What Was Once Forgotten
by AnimeWeirdo123
Summary: First fanfic. Kagome is being abused by her father Naraku, and she dresses in mostly black. When she goes to a new school and meets Inuyasha and the gang, what will happen? Inu/Kag, Mir/San, implied Aya/Kog. Rated for some language.
1. Meet Kagome

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN INUYASHA. OR ANYTHING ELSE FOR THAT MATTER. NOTHING. NADA. Kthxbai.**

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

**Enjoy! :D**

* * *

**7:00 AM**

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP- _

_CRASH_

"Ughhhh," mumbled a certain hanyou as he got up to take a shower. After five minutes in the shower, Inuyasha could hear a, "Inuyasha? Dear, are you up- Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Inuyasha! This is the third alarm clock that you've destroyed in the past week! Now, you better stop throwing them into the wall or you'll just have to start paying for them yourself! Okay?"

Inuyasha sighed while the water pounded on his head, "Fine, mother!"

He could hear his mother, Izayoi, leave his room just as he finished up his shower. After drying himself off with a towel, he changed into his baggy jeans, tight red shirt, and tennis shoes. He heard a knock at his door.

"Inuyasha, honey, hurry up! If you don't get a move on you'll be late for school!"

"Okay, mother," he responded. He looked at his desk to see what time it was on his alarm clock, but, "Oh yea, I broke it, didn't I?"

He ran downstairs and out the door, not even bothering to tell his mother goodbye. Once outside, he spotted his two best friends, Sango and Miroku, out by the curb.

"Hey, 'bout time! We were just about to leave ya here," Sango yelled at him.

Miroku spoke up next, "Hey, dude, get your ass down here before we're late! If I'm late again I'll get suspended. And that would not look good on my permanent record!"

Sango turned to him as Inuyasha ran towards the curb, "Permanent record? Since when do you care about what's on your permanent record?"

"I don't know, I was just looking for a good reason to get him to hurry up."

"Oh okay..." she trailed off as she felt something on her butt. Realizing that it was Miroku's hand, she yelled, "PERVERT!" And slapped him across the face. Miroku smiled as he rubbed the handprint on his face, "Sango, you know my hand is cursed! I can't help it!"

"UGH! Hey, Inuyasha, get your-! Oh...you're here. Well, come on, both of you! We're gonna be late!"

Inuyasha and Miroku looked at each other then back at Sango. "Alright," they both responded. After that they all piled into Miroku's purple pickup truck and went on their way.

**Meanwhile...**

A raven-haired teenager was dead asleep on her bed. Her alarm clock was beeping over ten minutes ago, but she simply threw it at the wall. So at the moment, she was just sleeping peacfully, wrapped up in her jet black comforter. That is, until...

"KAGOME! HURRY YOUR ASS UP AND GET TO SCHOOL ALREADY!"

The black haired beauty finally awoke due to her father, Naraku's, annoying outbursts. She slowly pulled herself off of her bed until she was in a weak standing position. She didn't bother taking a shower because she took one the night before, knowing that this was going to happen. So, she slipped off her pajamas and stalked over to her dresser before taking out a pair of black skinny jeans and pulling them on. Once she finally had them fastened, she walked over to her closet, now fully awake. She tugged a shirt off a hanger and threw it on. She looked around the room, searching for her shoes. Once she finally found both of them she pulled them onto her feet and tied them. She stood up straight and walked over to her cracked full-length mirror. She stared at her reflection for a long time, trying to decide how to cover up the cut on her forehead. She went into her bathroom and pulled out her makeup and dabbed some on it, wincing as she did from the pain. Once that was done, she took her bangs and set them over her cut, just to make sure no one noticed. She went back to her mirror and figured that she was good for the day.

"Well, at least this was an easy one to cover up. It's usually a lot worse," she said to herself.

She then noticed that the bruises on her arm from the other day still weren't fully healed. _You can't even notice them, _she thought, _As long as they go untouched __for the day, I'll be fine._

And with that, she grabbed her backpack and slowly walked out of her room. She was being as quiet as she could, in hopes of avoiding Naraku.

No such luck.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked her from the kitchen door.

She replied nervouly, "School. Uh, can't be late for my first day!" She tried to walk out, but he had already gotten to her side of the room and grabbed her arm. She winced from the pain.

"You're already late. Now, listen here, bitch. I want you to know that if you tell _anyone_ about how you got those cuts and bruises, I'll be sure to make it a lot worse."

She turned around slightly and looked at him, "I wasn't thinking of telling-"

"Yes, you were. Now...get a move on. Wouldn't want you to be late on your first day," he said mocking her, "and be back by 4:00. Or _else._"

He finally let her out of his grip, and walked back into the kitchen. She stood there for a moment, but soon came to her senses and walked quickly out the door.

She was walking across the street, not really paying attention, when a purple pick-up truck raced down the street toward her. The truck came to a screeching halt when the driver finally took notice of the girl in the middle of the road.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Inuyasha yelled out at the poor girl.

Kagome looked up and finally noticed them. "Oh, sorry, I didn't notice you coming down the road-"

"You didn't notice a bright purple piece of junk rolling down the street right at you?"

"Hey!" Miroku yelled at him, after hearing the comment about his truck.

"Shut up," Inuyasha said back.

Sango then felt that she had to speak up, "Why don't _both_ of you shut up. Listen, you in the road, sorry we almost ran into you-"

"Whatever," she said, interrupting Sango. She turned and walked the rest of the way across the street.

Everyone was silent until Sango said, "Oooookaaayyy. Well, let's get to school, shall we?"

The boys in the front groaned as Miroku began driving to their destination.

* * *

Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha had barely gotten into class on time. They sat down right as the bell rang.

"Wow. Holy shit, that was a close one." Inuyasha whispered to his two best companians.

"Sure was," Miroku whispered back, "that girl in the road almost made us late. But it wasn't really her fault."

Inuyasha looked back at his friend, "Suuuurrreee it wasn't her fault."

"You two, in the back, shut up before I kick your asses out of class." Myoga, the English teacher, yelled. They both turned their attention back to the teacher, mentally groaning.

"Now that I have _everyone's_ attention, I would like to introduce a new student."

All of the teens looked up at him once hearing the news about a new kid.

"Her name is Kagome Higurashi and I want everyone to be kind to her. No bothering her, no teasing her," he looked straight at Miroku for his next point, "and no groping her. Got it?"

Miroku pretended to look hurt at the accusation, "Myoga-sensei, I am appalled to know that you would even _think_ I am capable of such lechery!"

Myoga looked at him and said, "Cut the crap. Just don't even _think_ about harming her," he looked at the whole class now, "Kagome has had a hard life and I want her to feel welcome-"

"Ahem." A small voice spoke by the door.

Everyone turned their attention to where they heard the voice and saw a girl wearing mostly black. Her shirt said 'Don't piss me off, or I'll set my zombies on you.' She was also wearing skinny jeans and black combat boots, and her long black hair cascaded down to her middle back. Her bangs were covering half of her face, and she was holding a few books in her right hand by her side.

"Um, hi." She said to the class.

Inuyasha instantly recognized her. He leaned over towards Sango and Miroku, "Hey, isn't that the emo chick we almost ran over this morning?"

Sango looked up at her, "Yea, I think it is. But don't call her emo, stereotypes are stupid." (A/N I seriously believe that. Stereotypes _are_ stupid)

Inuyasha looked at her and rolled his eyes, "Yea, yea. Whatever. But what's she doing here?"

Miroku turned towards Inuyasha, "She's the new student, idiot. Did you seriously not get that? Obviously that's Kagome Higurashi."

"Feh. Whatever."

Myoga turned to Kagome, "Oh! I didn't see you there, Kagome. How are you today?"

She responded, "Uh...okay, I guess."

"So, Miss Kagome, is there anything you'd like to say to the class?"

"...Not really."

"Are you sure? No hobbies that you would like to share? Or any movies that you like to watch? Or-"

"I highly doubt they care."

Myoga looked at her for a moment, but finally gave up, "Fine. You don't have to say anything. Let's see, you'll need a seat, won't you? Uh, let's see..."

Myoga searched the room for a seat that Kagome could be placed in. "Hm...let's see now...Oh! There's one right next to Inuyasha. Inuyasha, raise your hand." Inuyasha looked up when he heard his name. He finally figured out that she was going to sit next to him. He mentally groaned and raised his hand. "Why do I have to sit by the emo chick..." he mumbled to himself as Kagome walked over to her new desk. When she finally got there she sat herself down and looked over at Inuyasha.

"You can put your hand down now, dog boy."

He then noticed that his hand was still up and quickly put his it down and glared at the girl. "Who are you calling dog boy?"

She stared back at him before pointing up to his white, fuzzy dog ears that were at the top of his head.

"Oh...still. You shouldn't be judging _me_ when you're a stupid goth wench."

Her stare turned into a glare(A/N Heh. That rhymed...) as she said, "Excuse me?"

He smirked, "You heard me...emo wench."

"Well at least I'm not a mutt."

"MUTT? WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MUTT, YOU-"

"INUYASHA! SHUT THE F*CK UP BEFORE I SEND YOU TO THE OFFICE!"

Inuyasha became quiet and stared at the teacher. "Feh. Whatever." He crossed his arms over his chest and slouched in his chair. Kagome had been looking down at her books when she whispered, "Good thing you stopped, or else they might have called the kennel on you."

"Why you little-!"

"Inuyasha!" Myoga yelled across the room. Inuyasha slouched back into his chair, mumbling, "Stupid emo wench getting me in trouble..."

A few more whispered insults and name-calling later and English class was finally over. Everyone walked out of the room in a hurry, trying to get back to their lockers. Kagome walked a little before finding her assigned locker. She looked at it for a moment, pleased that it was a top locker, and she soon opened it and threw the contents of her backpack into it. She was so busy looking for the things she needed for her next class that she didn't notice someone behind her.

"Hey!"

Kagome dropped some of her books from being startled by...who was it? She picked up her books then looked to see who the one that scared the shit out of her was. When she turned she saw a medium height girl with very long brown hair that was tied in a pony tail. She looked strong but at the same time very fragile. She was wearing navy skinny jeans and a green and pink striped shirt with a collor. She had bangles on each of her wrists that were mostly gold and silver. (A/N Sorry, I'm not very good at making up outfits, so bear with me)

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Did I freak you out?"

Kagome blinked, "...Uh, no...I'm, uh, fine. I'm sorry, but who are you?"

The girl looked at her, "I haven't even introduced myself, have I? Sorry, my name is Sango. And I already know that yours is Kagome. I believe me and my stupid ass friends almost ran you over this morning."

Kagome thought for a moment, "Oh yea, I remember you. You were the one that told them to shut up, right?"

Sango nodded her head, "That would be me."

"Ah, I see. Well...uh, nice meeting you?" She started to walk away, but she heard Sango calling her back.

"Hey, wait a second!" Kagome turned around and waited for whatever Sango needed to tell her. "Yea...?"

"Well...since you're new here, I thought you might want to sit with me and my friends when lunch comes around. Because...well...okay, you seem like a cool person to be friends with. I hope you don't think I'm weird, but seriously, sit with me and my friends?"

Kagome thought about it for a second, but then remembering something. _'Naraku told me to not make any friends, because he's afraid they'll find out...but, she __seems nice and I don't have any other plans. So...maybe one lunch wouldn't hurt anyone...'_

"Okay...I don't have any other plans for lunch so I guess I might as well..."

"Yes! That's awesome, dude. Well, see ya at lunch." Sango said to her as she left Kagome behind. Kagome was slightly worried for a second, but soon just let the feeling subside. _'It is just one lunch...it's not like I'm saying that we'll become best friends for life __or anything...'_ she thought to herself on her way to Math class.

Math and Art were fairly uneventful, so we'll just go ahead to lunch.

Kagome walked into the cafeteria not really sure what to do, until she saw Sango waving to her from across the room at a small lunch table. Kagome picked up her lunch and walked over to the table. She sat down in the available seat next to Sango, and looked around the table. Which, much to her surprise, everyone was looking back at her.

"What are you looking at?" She asked.

Everyone just sat there and diverted their eyes a bit. She sighed at their lame attempt at not looking like they were staring at her.

Sango then spoke after a few moments of silence, "Okayyy. Well, Kagome, let me introduce you to everyone! This is Miroku," she pointed to a boy with black hair that was pulled into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck. _'I think that was the driver of the car that almost ran me over.'_ Kagome thought to herself. "this is Ayame," Sango pointed to a girl who had red hair pulled into high pigtails with an iris in one of them. She was wearing mainly fur for clothes, which Kagome thought was odd, but she let it go. Sango continued, "This is Koga, Ayame's boyfriend," she pointed a guy next to Ayame, who was also wearing fur, except his was brown and Ayame's was mostly white. "Okay, this is Shippo, he's a little hyper but he's okay as long as he isn't on a sugar high." She pointed to a boy who was wearing baggy jeans with a orange shirt and blue vest on. He also had his orange-ish hair in a ponytail. He looked about 2 years younger than everyone else. "Oh, if you're wondering why he looks

younger than us, it's because he skipped a few grades." Kagome looked back at Sango then at Shippo, "Okay..." she responded.

Sango went on to introduce Kanna, Kagura, and Kirara. (A/N I know she's an animal in the series, but I wanted to make her human for this story, so just go with it)

Kanna was wearing mostly white and also had white hair. She looked like she kept to herself, which Kagome didn't mind, because she also liked to keep to herself. Kagura looked tall and thin, unlike Kanna who was skinny but fairly short. She wore her black hair in a bun with a feather sticking out of it. She had on a blue jacket with a plain purple and green shirt under it. She also had on navy skinny jeans, like Sango's, with a yellow belt around it. She looked like she was the toughest girl of the group, and Kagome guessed that she was into sports. Then there was Kirara,(A/N That _is _how you spell her name, so don't try to correct me) who had white-ish hair in pigtails that laid on her shoulders. Her hair had a black streak down the side, and her eyes looked almost like that of a cat's. Her outfit was fairly plain, with a jean mini skirt and a plain red T-shirt. Kagome found out that, like Shippo, Kirara was younger and had skipped a few grades. She looked like a hyper one, so Kagome was glad she was on the far side of the table. Then, there was Inuyasha. The rude, obnoxious, self-centered bastard that Kagome knew would be her pain in the ass of the year. She glared at him for a moment before looking back at Sango, who was apparently still talking.

"So, that's our little group. And you guys already know that this is Kagome." she stated.

"Hey Kagome" everyone except a certain hanyou welcomed.

Kagome looked around the table, "Uh...hi."

It was silent for a moment, before Kirara asked Kagome in a hyper voice, "Hey, so where did you come from? Why did you move here? Why are you wearing almost all black? Are you goth?"

Kagome sat there for a moment, thinking _'Well, I can't tell them the truth...so, I'll just fib a little about the moving part.'_

She finally answered, "Uh...well...I come from Michigan-" she stopped when she heard a snort coming from Inuyasha. She glared for a moment, before continuing, "and we moved here because my dad...uh, he got a promotion and we were relocated here. And, uh, what was the last question?"

Kagura spoke up, "She asked why you wear so much black, Kagome."

Kagome thought for a moment. _'Oh no, what do I say? Um...' _"It's, uh...because...," she looked down, "I don't know..."

Sango turned to Kirara and whispered, "You shouldn't have asked her that, Kirara!"

"How was I supposed to know she didn't want to answer? I can't read minds!"

"Well, you should've thought about-"

"It's okay..." Kagome said, breaking up the small argument between the two friends. They both stared back at her for a second, making Kagome feel a little awkward. "Well...uh, sorry, but I have to, uh...go." With that said, she got up, threw her lunch away, and walked out of the cafeteria.

It was silent, until Miroku said, "What was that about?"

Sango looked back at him, "I have no idea."

"You think she's upset?" Shippo asked.

"Who knows?" Koga spoke.

"You think we struck a chord with her asking why she dresses like she does?" Ayame asked looking up at Koga.

"Who cares?" said Inuyasha after being silent the whole time.

Everyone looked at him then back at the door that Kagome used to leave the room.

_'Hmmmm...'_ Sango thought as the bell rang.

All of the students picked up their lunches, threw them away, and went to their lockers to get ready for their next class.

**Sango's POV**

I was walking down the hall towards my locker when I noticed Kagome at hers. I decided to apologize for Kirara asking that question. I walked over to her.

"Hey, Kagome."

She looked startled for a moment, but slowly turned back to face me. "Um...hey..."

"Listen, sorry if we upset you during lunch, Kirara was just-"

"It's okay. I'm not upset." Man, she gets a kick out of interrupting me, doesn't she?

"Well, as long as you're okay... Hey, you want to hang out with me and the girls after school? We were going to go to the mall for awhile, if ya want to join us."

She looked a little sad, and said to me, "I'm sorry, but I can't..."

"Oh. Well, maybe some other time." I tried.

"Yea...some other time...," she spoke so quietly I had to strain to hear her, "I have to get to class now, Sango, bye."

She quickly walked away from me.

Okay...that was a little odd. There's something wrong with her, I just know it.

I turned around and headed to my locker.

**Regular POV**

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, until after school. Kagome had just left her last class of the day and went to her locker. She was quickly packing her stuff and constantly checking the time to make sure she wouldn't be late. Inuyasha was turning the corner when he noticed Kagome at her locker. _'Ugh. There's that __stupid goth chick. You know, she actually is kind of pretty if you can get past her shyness and stupid insults.' _He thought. He continued walking-he had stopped before when he saw her- but immediately stayed where he was when he noticed how much of a hurry she was in. She was looking at the wall clock every five seconds. _'What is she rushing for?' _He thought. He walked over to her and said, "Why are you in such a rush, Kagome?"

Kagome turned around to see Inuyasha. _'Great. Just what I need.'_

"Nothing. I just...I just wanna get outta here, that's all."

She quickly grabbed her backpack and started walking, but stopped when she felt someone grab her arm. Inuyasha held her arm where her worst bruise was still healing. She flinched and bit back a yelp, and then asked in a choked voice, "What do you _want_?"

He had noticed the pain in her voice and slowly let go. She checked the clock again and noticed that it was 10 till 4:00.

"Oh shit, how did it get so late?" She said out loud by accident.

"Late? It's only 3:50, I would hardly call that late." Inuyasha told her in a mocking tone.

She glared at him, "Shut up!" And with that, she ran off, trying as hard as she could to get back home before she was late.

Inuyasha blinked, and thought, _'What was _that _about?'_

He shook his head and walked out the door, noticing Kagome running as fast as she could down the street. "What could be so dam important?" And with that, he walked to Miroku's truck and jumped into the front seat next to Miroku.

* * *

Kagome ran down the road, looking for the street that her house was on. Once she finally spotted the street sign for Bone Eater's Drive, she increased her speed. She turned into her driveway and burst in the front door. Everything seemed the same, and she didn't see Naraku. So she sighed in relief, until...

"Where have _you_ been?" A dark, menacing voice asked Kagome.

Her eyes widened as she saw Naraku appear on the other side of the room, glaring at her.

"I said... Where. Have. You. Been?" He said stopping at each word as he walked closer to her.

"I-I was at school, Dad."

"LIAR!" He yelled as he slapped his daughter across the face. She fell to the ground and looked up, "I-I c-couldn't help it. School g-gets out a-at 3:45...it was a-almost impossible to-to get here on t-time." she stuttered, trying to save herself from another beating.

"Well... you're about to get your rightful punishment, little brat." he spoke cracking his knuckles.

* * *

**Inuyasha's POV**

We were driving down the road searching for the street sign for Sango's house. We had to talk to her before she left for the mall. I noticed the sign near the end of the road.

I spoke up, "Hey, hey, there's her street. Bone Eater's Drive. Turn, turn!"

Miroku turned like I told him to and I looked out the window searching for Sango's house. We were close to where she lived when I heard a scream.

"Miroku, stop!" I yelled at him. He did as I asked.

I got out and looked around, searching for the place that I heard the scream. Suddenly the scent of blood came to my nose, something was wrong.

"Hey, man, why'd you get out?" Miroku asked.

"I heard a scream...didn't you hear it?"

"No, I didn't hear anything."

Inuyasha stood his ground for a moment, but then decided that it was probably just his imagination. He climbed back into the truck and they went a couple houses down before finding Sango's.

* * *

**Kagome's POV**

I was on the ground, covered in my own blood. Naraku had hit me repeatedly with a vase that was on the table near us, then he took one of the jagged pieces of the vase and cut my leg with it. Now he towers over me, yelling at me.

"Why did you scream! One of the neighbors could have heard you! Then I would have gotten in trouble, which in turn, means that _you'd_ be in trouble. How could you be so _stupid_?"

I struggled to sit up. "I-I'm sorry, Dad..."

"Don't call me Dad! You're no daughter of mine!" He kicked me in the stomach repeatedly until I was coughing up blood, but luckily not enough to break my ribs.

"Stupid brat..." he mumbled as he grabbed his beer and walked upstairs.

I slowly got up and limped to the kitchen. I had put an emergency kit under the sink a few days ago when we had moved in. I grabbed the gauze and wrapped it around my stomach after I had put antibiotics on the cuts. I grabbed a paper towel and wiped the blood off my face, then I picked up the kit and walked slowly up the stairs. I don't want Naraku catching me cleaning my wounds, he'd just hit me more. I got into my room and immediately locked the door. I sighed with relief that I didn't run into him in the hallway, and I limped into my bathroom. In there I cleaned the long cut on my leg with a wet rag. Then I bandaged that up and walked up to the mirror. I saw that there was another cut on my cheek. _Great, this is gonna be hard to cover up..._

"I'll just say that I accidently cut myself...but how? Let's see...I could have cut myself with scissors! No...how would that have happened? Um...I could say that I ran into a door. That could work...I'll just say that. But I have to make sure the other wounds stay covered. I can't blame them all on a stupid door." She said to herself.

After all of her wounds were cleaned up, she went over to her desk and did her homework, which wasn't much since it was her first day. So after she finished, she slowly walked over to her bed and fell onto it. She grunted as she felt the pain of one of her wounds on her stomach. She got under the covers and hoped that the next day would be better. Kagome then quickly fell asleep.


	2. The Mall, And A Glance At The Past

**Disclaimer: I do not, I repeat, do NOT own Inuyasha! Or anything else! I own NOTHING! So please, pleeaassee don't sue me.**

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

Enjoy! :D

* * *

_**The next day...**_

**Regular POV**

Kagome had been restless all night long. She just couldn't get to sleep. She had woken up without the help of an alarm clock or Naraku. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and threw her legs over the side of the bed. Kagome pushed herself to get onto her legs, but as soon as she stood up, she collapsed. She lay on the ground wondering what had just happened. That was when she remembered what had happened the day before.

"Oh yea...that bastard kicked and cut my leg yesterday...Ugh. I guess this means I'll be walking with a limp for awhile..." she said to herself.

Kagome slowly picked herself up and limped over to her dresser to take out her dark blue skinny jeans. Then she tried walking over to her closet but tripped over her broken stereo. "Great. Juuuust great." She got herself up again and slowly made her way to her closet, watching out for anything that could make her fall over again. Once she got over there, she grabbed her purple T-shirt that said in black letters 'Tell The Monsters Under Your Bed I Said Hi'. She walked over to her bathroom, changed into her clothes, and grabbed the brush and tugged at her hair, trying to make it look halfway decent. Kagome then left her bathroom and put on her black and silver jacket to cover up the cuts and bruises on her arms. Grabbing her blue and black checkered backpack, she left her bedroom. She walked through the hallway, down the stairs, and almost out the front door. She thought she was home free, until she heard Naraku's sinister voice call out, "Hey...don't come home too soon today. I have important people coming today, and I don't want your fat ass ruining my reputation."

She looked back and saw her father by the stairs, "O-okay. What time do you want me back?"

"Maybe around 9:00 tonight."

"That long?"

"Are you questioning me, young lady?"

"No, no! I was just...wondering."

"Well, bitch. You better get out of here before your _wondering_ gets you in trouble..."

Kagome's eyes widened and she ran out the front door. She walked down the sidewalk for a while, until she heard a voice yell, "Hey! Kagome! Over here!" Kagome looked up to see who called her name, and saw that it was Sango yelling from Miroku's truck.

She started yelling again, "Dude, you want a ride?"

"Um...no thanks..."

"Come on, why not?"

"Um...because I um...I..."

"Yea...?"

"I, uh...," Kagome sighed in defeat, "Okay, I guess I do need a ride."

Sango looked happy at the response, "Alright! Hop in then!"

Kagome walked over to the truck and jumped into the back next to Sango.

"Hello there, Lady Kagome." Miroku greeted her from the driver's seat.

"Hi..."

Sango turned towards the person in the passenger seat, "Ahem. Inuyasha, don't you have something to say to Kagome?"

Inuyasha turned towards her as Miroku started the car again. "I don't think I do."

"Aren't you going to say _hi?"_ Sango said in a threatening tone.

Inuyasha grunted, "Hi emo wench."

Sango glared at him, "_What was that_?"

Inuyasha gulped, "I mean...Hi, Kagome..."

"Uh...hi..."

Sango's glare turned into a cheery smile, "_That's_ more like it!" She then turned her attention towards Kagome. "Hey Kagome, yesterday me and the girls ended up not going to the mall. So we rescheduled for today. Wanna come?"

Kagome was about to decline the offer, but then she thought about it, _'I'm not supposed to go home till about 9...so, this could be what I do until then, I guess...'_

"Do you guys have a Hot Topic at your mall?" she asked.

Inuyasha snorted at the statement, but they didn't notice.

"Yea, we do! They have all sorts of awesome stores there, and they have killer pizza in the food court. So whataya say?"

Kagome thought for a moment, and then replied with a small smile, "Sure. I'd love to go."

"Yes! This'll be awesome!"

Kagome nodded her head, but inside her head she was kind of worried. _'I hope Naraku doesn't find out, or else he would kill me...literally. Well, tonight I'll just say that I was hanging out in the park, and not the mall.' _She was still unsure of the plan, but she couldn't decline the offer now. It was too late.

Kagome was deep in thought when she heard Sango speak to her, "Uh...Kagome? We're here."

Kagome sat up and looked around and saw that they were indeed, at school. She sighed and climbed out of the truck. She slammed the door shut and walked-no...limped, ahead of the others towards the school. Inuyasha saw this and thought to himself, _'Was she limping when we picked her up? Oh well, nothing for me to be worked up about..."_

Kagome got to her locker and stuffed her backpack in. She grabbed her English book and walked to class with a limp, trying to make it as unnoticeable as possible. She had gotten to class late and everyone looked up at her when she walked in. Her face flushed at all of their stares, and she limped over to her desk. As she sat down, Inuyasha leaned over and whispered, "Hey, why are you limping?"

Her eyes widened and she whispered back, "Uh...I, uh..."

"You say 'uh' and 'um' a lot...you know that, right?" Inuyasha pointed out.

Kagome blushed at his observation, "I guess I do..."

"Why?"

"...I, uh, guess I'm not really a social person..."

"Why not?"

"I'm just...not."

"Yea, but why? Do you not like people or something?"

"No it's not really that..."

"Then what?"

Kagome thought for a moment, _'What do I say? I can't tell him about Naraku, obviously...I'll just improvise..'_

"I honestly don't know why..."

Inuyasha sat back up in his chair, "Okay..."

"Inuyasha! Are you talking?" Myoga yelled at Inuyasha.

"No, no, I wasn't, Myoga-sensei..."

"Sure you weren't...well if you don't mind, would you _please_ turn to page 374 in your English book like I told the class to do 5 minutes ago?"

Inuyasha looked down at his book and immediately opened it up, "Yea, sir, of course..."

Kagome giggled a little at his embarrassment, and Inuyasha noticed this. He looked at her and noticed that she was smiling softly. _'Ya know, she actually _is _pretty even when she's shy...'_

"INUYASHA!"

Inuyasha turned his attention towards the teacher,"Yes, sorry, Myoga-sensei!" He looked down at his English book and pretended to read. _'What was that? Why was I paying attention to _her_? Have I lost it?' _He started actually reading his book and that's how he stayed for the rest of English. Except when he looked to the side to see what Kagome was doing, which she was always reading her English book. But every once in a while he'd catch her looking back at him, which always resulted with her blushing and looking down at her book. Her shyness made him smile a little bit, but he usually caught himself, _'Pull yourself together, man...'_

Eventually English was over and all the students filed out of the room. Kagome was a little behind, with the limp in her leg and all. Inuyasha stopped for a second and looked back at her. After a few moments of just standing there, he walked back and stayed along side her, "Hey, you still haven't told me why you're limping."

Kagome's eyes widened and Inuyasha noticed this, "I, uh...I...fell down the...stairs."

"Really? Cause you look like you're lying..."

Kagome looked up at him, "No! I really fell down the stairs, now would you let it go?"

Inuyasha stared at her for a moment, but then replied, "Feh. Fine, ya stupid emo wench. I wasn't really _that_ curious to know anyways!" And he walked away from her. Kagome watched his retreating figure and sighed. Eventually she got herself to her locker, exchanged her English books for her Math supplies, and walked off to class.

* * *

After Math was over, Kagome got to her locker and remembered that instead of Art she had some other class. While she was trying to remember which class it was, Sango ran up to her.

"Hey, Kagome-chan!"

Kagome nearly fell over, but she kept herself up, "Oh, h-hey, Sango...didn't see ya there..."

"Oh, sorry! Hey, are you ready?"

"Ready? Ready for what?"

"For PE class. Duhh."

Kagome's eyes widened, "Uh, um, do we have to wear anything special for gym class?" She hoped that the answer was no, but, "Oh yea. It's basically a white and red tank top with the team name on it, and red shorts. Except for basketball season, then we wear basketball shorts. So, ya coming or not? We're gonna be late."

Kagome was worried and scared too death, _'Oh no! What if they see my scars?'_

Sango snapped her fingers in front of Kagome's face, "Helloooo? Earth to Kagome. Earth to Kagome."

Kagome eventually snapped out of her shock and slowly limped along side Sango. Sango looked at her curiously, but eventually just payed attention to where they were going. Once they got to the gym, Kagome could see a bunch of her girl classmates in white and red tank tops and red shorts. Sango saw where she was looking, "See? What did I tell ya?" Kagome stood in place, not really paying attention to Sango, until she yelled, "Hey! Kagome! Wake up!" Kagome shook her head and slowly walked to the bleachers. Sango was right beside her, "Okay, I wasn't going to ask, but...why are you walking with a limp?"

"Uh..fell down the stairs."

"Uh-huh...well, are you sure you can play volleyball with a limp like that?"

Kagome suddenly smiled in realization, "I guess I can't!" She walked over to her gym teacher, and asked if she could sit out.

"And why should I let you sit out, Miss...," he checked his clipboard, "Kagome?"

"You see, I fell down the stairs yesterday, and I can't walk without a limp. So if I can hardly walk, I doubt I could play volleyball."

The coach looked at her suspiciously, "Alright...but just this once."

Kagome sighed in relief and limped over to the bleachers. Gym class went on without her, and she got up and almost collapsed when the bell rang. Fortunately she caught herself and no one noticed. She limped her way through the hallway and made her way to the cafeteria where Sango dragged her to their table right after she bought her lunch. They sat down and immediately started talking. Everyone except Kagome, that is. She sat quietly and poked her mashed potatoes until Kagura said, "Hey Kagome, you're coming to the mall with us, right?"

Kagome looked up from her mashed potatoes, "I guess I am..."

Kagura said, "Cool. How long are you allowed to stay out?"

"Um...well, I'm not allowed to go home till about 9..."

" 'Not allowed'? You're not _allowed_ to go home till 9?"

Inuyasha just watched this until he finally spoke, "It's weird. You were in such a rush to get home yesterday."

Everyone looked at him then back at Kagome, who realized that she said too much, "Uh, did I say not allowed? What I meant to say was that I...am allowed to not go home till 9..."

Kagura narrowed her eyes and shook her head, "No. You meant that you're not allowed home till 9. Why not?"

Shippo looked up from his cinnamon bun, "Yea, Kagome-chan. Why aren't you allowed home?"

Kagome gulped and said, "Uh...well, you see...my dad is, uh, having important people over, so..."

Miroku spoke up, "That doesn't necessarily mean you can't be at home, Lady Kagome."

"Yea!" Sango spoke.

Kagome looked around the table, and finally decided to just go with the truth. Not the whole truth, but some of it. "Well...my dad doesn't want me ruining his reputation..."

Kirara looked at her funny, "Reputation? Your father thinks you'll ruin his reputation? What kind of father says that?"

"I...I don't know..."

Sango looked at her in pity, "Well, don't worry Kagome-chan. You can hang with us till then!"

Kagura said, "Oh yea. Feel free to stay with us however long you want."

Kirara bounced up and down happily, "Yea! It's gonna be sooo much fun!"

Kanna calmly stated, "It should be a fun time."

Kagome smiled a little at her new friends' kindness, "Uh...thanks you guys..."

Sango looked at her, "No problem!"

After that everyone went back to their conversations, and Kagome went back to poking at her food.

After lunch was over everyone got up, threw their lunches away, and headed to class.

* * *

Kagome was in science class, but she wasn't really paying attention. She kept on looking out the window and tapping her pencil. It didn't really matter that she wasn't paying attention, because nobody was. It was too easy because the teacher, Totosai-sensei, was old and hard of hearing and vision. And according to some students, he was kind of crazy.

So everyone was either listening to their iPods or talking to their friends. Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango were doing just that. They were talking about how stupid the teachers were until Inuyasha brought up a random subject.

"So Sango, yesterday we were on your road and I heard someone scream. Do you know what I'm talking about, or was it just my imagination?" Inuyasha asked.

Sango thought for a moment, and then answered, "Actually, yes. I did hear what I thought was a girl's scream a few nights ago. And a faint one yesterday."

Inuyasha looked at her and said, "Really?"

"Yep. It sounded pretty blood-curdling, if you ask me. I would have gotten out of bed to check what it was, but then I thought that it must have been a dream. So I just stayed there. I heard another one, but thought it just the dream again."

"But it wasn't..." Inuyasha said.

"I guess not..." Sango thought deep in thought.

Miroku spoke up, "I feel left out. I didn't hear a scream." He pouted a little.

Sango rolled her eyes, "Don't be such a baby, Miroku. It's not like-HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING? PERVERT!" She slapped Miroku across the face. She looked up at the teacher and saw that he didn't hear or see a thing. "Wow. Why is he a teacher again?"

Both of the boys shook their heads while Miroku rubbed his cheek smiling.

Inuyasha looked at them, "So? Who do you think was the one screaming, anyways?"

Miroku looked at him, "Why do you care so much?"

Inuyasha glared at him, "I don't know. But you didn't even hear it so butt out."

Miroku pouted again and Sango rolled her eyes, "Anyways... I don't know who did it." Just then she had a look of realization, "Hey, I think I might know!"

Inuyasha looked at her curiously, "Who?"

"Well...I don't know their names, but we have some new neighbors down the street. The screams didn't start happening till after they moved in. It could have been them."

Inuyasha thought for a moment, "Well, isn't that interesting..."

Miroku looked at both of them, "Again I ask, _why_ do you care so much?"

Sango looked at him softly, "You didn't hear the screams. They would give you nightmares. Somebody is in trouble, and I can't just stand by and not do anything when I know someone out there is hurting, Miroku."

Miroku's eyes softened and he put his hand on Sango's, "I think I understand." Sango nodded her head and looked down. Then she spoke up, "So, you guys wanna come with me to meet the new neighbors after school tomorrow?"

"Yea!" Both boys said in unison.

"Okay, cool. We'll drive to my house together tomorrow and walk over to my neighbor's house."

The boys nodded in agreement. The bell rang and everyone left the science lab.

Kagome walked out and limped to her locker, completely oblivious to the conversation her new friends just had.

* * *

The rest of the school day was fairly uneventful, so let's go ahead to after school, shall we?

"Hey Kagome!" Kirara called out to her as she walked out of school.

Sango yelled, "Hurry up! We're going to the mall now!"

Kagome had almost completely forgotten about agreeing to go to the mall. But she walked over to them and climbed into their car, anyways.

"Who's car is this?" Kagome asked shyly.

Kagura turned to her from the driver's seat, "Mine."

Kagome looked at her then down to her lap. "Oh..."

Kagura started the car and drove for about ten minutes before announcing, "Hey bitches, we're here!"

Everyone got out of the car and walked over to the mall. Kagome's limp was almost gone, the cut was still there, obviously, but she had gotten used to walking almost normally. They first went into Wet Seal, where Sango and the other girls, except for Kanna, went crazy. Kagome didn't really get excited about it, but she did buy two new pairs of skinny jeans. One was black with silver thread, and the other was a regular dark gray color.

After Wet Seal, they all went to Forever 21, where Kagome felt totally out of place. (A/N I know how this feels. Being in store where all the pretty girls shop wearing something that just doesn't exactly fit in with the other clothes) She basically just sat in the dressing room and told the girls what looked good and what didn't. She did get one thing, though. A lime green barrette that had black lace on it. She was somewhat surprised that they had it there, but she didn't question it.

Once they were out of Forever 21, Kirara dragged them into Jinenji's Toy Factory. Everyone basically waited by the front door while Kirara played with various toys until she decided to buy a rag doll. Kagome thought, _'Wow. She's like a little kid.'_

After they finally got Kirara out of the toy store, Kagura begged them to come with her to the sports shop. There she bought herself a helmet, football, and new basketball. They went to a couple of stores after that, such as JCPenney's, Dillard's, Victoria's Secret(where Kagome felt _very_ awkward), and Sephora's. At all of those stores Kagome felt somewhat out of place, but at the same time she had a lot of fun with them. They were walking down the large mall, when Kagome noticed a place that she could feel shop without feeling awkward. Without a word, she dragged everybody into Hot Topic with her. She looked around the different sections of the store, excited. All of the others girls kind of walked around awkwardly, looking for something that didn't creep them out. (A/N I'm not saying Hot Topic is like a demonic store, just that people that aren't used to it might be a little creeped out. Especially girls that shop at mainly Wet Seal and Forever 21) Kagome kept on grabbing shirts and different accessories, plus a pair of jeans or two. Sango smiled at her new friend, happy that she was finally loosening up a bit. After Kagome grabbed one last belt, she walked over to the cash register and payed for the stuff she had. After that, she carried her many Hot Topic bags out of the store behind her friends.

Sango looked at Kagome, "So Kagome. What'd you get?"

Kagome lifted her head, "Oh. Uh, just some shirts, belts, pants...uh, a barrette or two, a ribbon, a few buttons, some arm sleeves...let's see, uh..some necklaces..a journal...and a doll."

Sango had a somewhat shocked expression, "A doll? They have dolls in there?"

"Yea, they do. Here let me show you...," Kagome fished through her bags, and then picked something out, "Here it is."

She brought out a foot tall doll covered in fake blood. One of it's eyes were gouged out and it's black hair was a mess. She had cuts on her arms and her dress and legging also had cuts in them. One of her shoes was missing, and she had a sad smile on her face.

Kirara's eyes widened, "Ahhh! Kagome, why did you buy that?"

Kagome looked sad for a moment and she mumbled, "Because she somewhat reminds me of myself..."

Ayame asked, "What did you say?"

Kagome looked up from her new doll, "Oh, uh...I said it was because I thought it was cool..."

Ayame looked at her suspiciously, "Uh-huh...well, you guys wanna get something to eat?"

Kagura yelled, "F*ck yea! I've been hungry for the past hour!"

Kanna looked up at her, "Then why didn't you say anything?"

"I dunno. But the point is we're getting some food _now_!"

Kanna sighed and started walking towards the food court. Everyone followed her to the pizza place.

They were eating peacefully, until Ayame asked with her mouth full, "Hey, what time is it?"

Kagura swallowed the food in her mouth and looked at her watch, "It's 8:55. Why?"

Kagome gasped and everyone looked at her. "What's wrong, Kagome-chan?" Kirara asked.

"Uh...I have to go." She stood up and walked towards the exit.

Kagura yelled at her as everyone got up and threw their food away, "Hey! You want a ride?"

Kagome looked back and said, "Actually, if it isn't any trouble, I would like a ride."

Kagura nodded her head and everyone left the mall and hopped into the car. _'I hope Naraku doesn't get mad if I get there after 9, because he didn't say I had to be there at 9. Just stay out till 9...well, I'm not taking any chances.'_

They were going all the ways that Kagome told them to turn at, and eventually ended up in a small neighborhood. Kagome noticed her street, "Hey, hey, there's my street. Turn there."

Kagura did as she said and turned onto Bone Eater's Drive.

Kanna looked at Sango, "Sango? Isn't this _your_ street as well?"

Sango looked back at her, "Yea, it is. Hey, Kagome we live on the same street!"

Kagome turned her head towards Sango and her eyes widened, "R-really? Isn't that interesting..." She looked back at the street. "My house is over there somewhere, just drop me off here please." Kagura looked confused but stopped anyways. As soon as she did Kagome jumped out and raced down the sidewalk, sort of wobbly since her leg still wasn't completely healed yet. The girls looked at each other, all with confused looks on their faces.

Sango finally said, "Okay then...back up a little, Kagura, my house is a little back."

"Um...okay..."

She did as she said and Sango got out and walked to her house. _'That was certainly odd...' _(A/N Btw, Sango still hasn't figured out that Kagome is the new neighbor...I know, I know. She isn't stupid, I just need her to not know for the sake of this story's future. Got it? Good)

* * *

Kagome ran into her front door and looked up at the clock, _'Nine o'clock...I made it!' _She sighed in relief, until she heard, "Ahem."

Kagome looked towards the dining room, where her father and a couple of other people were. All of the men and women at the table were wearing suits, so Kagome assumed they were his colleagues or something. "Oh, uh...sorry, am I interrupting something?"

The men and women at the table snickered while her father said with venom in his voice, "Actually, yes, you are. Now go upstairs. I'll be giving your _punishment_ later."

"B-but I got home in time-"

"I told you to stay out till _after_ 9! And what time is it?"

"N-n-nine..."

"Exactly. Now go up- what are those things in your hands?"

Kagome looked down and saw that she was still holding her shopping bags. Her eyes widened. "I-I..."

"Kagome...where did you go?" Her father glared at her. She knew that if his colleagues weren't there, he would have already pounded her face in.

"Um...th-the..."

He mocked her, "The-the-the-the...what?"

"The...mall."

"Who did you go with?"

She looked up, "N-no one..."

"Sure...now get upstairs..."

"But-"

"NOW!"

Kagome walked backwards a little bit before running/limping up the stairs. She got into her room, closed, and locked the door. She breathed in, and out, in, and out. She couldn't believe what just happened. _'Why was I so stupid? Why did I bring my bags in with me?'_

She walked over to the bathroom and sat in the corner, thinking about what might happen to her later. She eventually started crying and put her head in her hands. She stayed like that for a couple of minutes, but then she looked up and noticed her swiss army knife on the counter. She slowly crawled towards the counter and grabbed the weapon. She crawled back over to her corner and started cutting her wrists. She did it very slowly, so that she could really feel the pain. Kagome had about 10 small cuts on her wrist until she finally came to her senses, _'What am I doing? Why am I doing this to myself?'_ Kagome then looked up at the ceiling and remembered. "I think I know why..."

**FLASHBACK**

_It was 7 years before and 10 year-old Kagome was with her mom and brother in their home in Tokyo. That was where she was from, not Michigan. She was helping her mother with the dishes, while her brother was sitting at the table still eating his dinner. Their father, Naraku, still wasn't home from work. Kagome and her mother were having a wonderful time, laughing and splashing each other with the sink water. Her brother Sota, who was only 6 years old, eventually joined in. They were throwing sink bubbles at each other for over half an hour. _

_"Alright, kids, I think it's time for bed." Their mother said._

_"Noooo!" Both kids begged. "Please let us stay up late!" _

_Their mother giggled, "I'm sorry, guys, but it's already way past your bed time." _

_Kagome and Sota pouted but followed their mother upstairs anyways. Kagome waited outside of her brother's room for her mother. She was in there for a few minutes before she finally came out. Her mother smiled warmly to her, "Come on, Kagome, time to tuck you in." She held her hand out for Kagome to take. Kagome grabbed her mother's hand and followed her to her room. Her mom tucked her in and sang 'Silent Night' to get her to fall asleep. Once Kagome was about to enter dreamland, her mother stood up and turned off Kagome's pink lamp. Kagome shifted, "Please, mommy, keep it on. Please?" Her mother smiled at her and turned on the light, "Of course. But only for tonight, don't get used to it." She kissed her daughter on the forehead and left the room. Then Kagome fell into a deep sleep._

_She woke up when she felt herself being carried. She slowly opened her eyes to see a complete stranger in a strange looking helmet carrying her away._

_"Ahhhh! Who are you?"_

_The man looked at her and said, "Shhh, every thing's going to be alright..."_

_"Where's mommy? And Sota?"_

_"We're working on it, sweetheart..."_

_Kagome looked behind the man and saw her house in flames. Tears came to eyes as she screamed, "NOOOOOOO! MOMMY! SOTA!" _

_"Don't look!" The man held Kagome closer as he ran towards the ambulance. He set her onto the stretcher, but she kept flailing, screaming, "MOMMY! SOTA! MOMMYYYY!"_

_They eventually had to strap her down, and put the stretcher into the ambulance. She cried all the way to the hospital. But then she started coughing non-stop, and eventually passed out._

_Kagome woke up in a very bright room. It was so white, she could hardly see. "Where...am I...?"_

_The nurse looked down at her in pity, "Shhh. You're in the hospital, dear. Just go back asleep."_

_Kagome then remembered what happened the night before. "Where's mommy? And Sota? Are they alright? What happened?"_

_The nurse's eyes softened, "Oh dear...I'm so sorry. But I'm afraid your mother and brother died in the fire last night."_

_Kagome's eyes widened and filled with tears, "Fire? How did the fire start?"_

_"I believe what I heard was that one of the lamps in the house that was on fell over onto the carpet, and burst into flames...I'm really, very sorry..."_

_Kagome's eyes filled with even more tears, "Which room was the lamp in?"_

_"I think they said it was in...your room..."_

_Kagome couldn't hold it in anymore, and started crying uncontrollably. "I KILLED THEM! I KILLED THEM! SOTA! MOMMY!"_

_The nurse held the crying girl in her arms and soothed her, telling her that it wasn't her fault. "YES IT WAS! I TOLD MY MOM TO LEAVE IT ON! IF I HADN'T DONE THAT...THEY'D STILL BE ALIVE!" She began to cry harder. And all the nurse could think to do was hold her and try to convince her it wasn't her fault._

_A few days later, Kagome was sent to her new home. One of the nurses that took care of her drove her because her father wasn't able to. In fact, Kagome hadn't even seen her father for the days she was in the hospital. She was still mourning her mother and brother's deaths, but she decided to put on a happy face for daddy. She loved her father very much, he was so kind and he spoiled her with gifts. She couldn't ask for a better father. So she decided to pretend to be happy for his sake. _

_Kagome left the car after hugging Nurse Kaede, who she had made friends with at the hospital. She waved to Kaede as she drove off, and walked into her new home. She looked around, and eventually saw her father in what she assumed was the living room._

_She tried to smile, and she walked over to him. He looked straight down at her with a frown on his face. "Hi daddy!" She spoke. And in return, he slapped her. Kagome fell to the ground and held her cheek as tears formed in her eyes. "Daddy...why did you do that?"_

_"It's all your fault..."_

_"W-what, Daddy?"_

_"It's. All. Your. FAULT!" He screamed as he kicked her in the stomach._

_"D-daddy...it-it hurts..."_

_"GOOD!" He yelled as he picked her up and slapped her again. "Now go to your room..."_

_"But, Daddy, I don't know where my room is-"_

_"DON'T CALL ME DAD! JUST FIGURE OUT WHICH ROOM IS YOURS!"_

_Kagome was very scared, so she held her stomach and ran up the stairs. She locked herself in the first room she found. She broke down crying right then and there. _

**FLASHBACK ENDS**

Kagome continued crying at the memory. She choked out, "W-why? Why did it happen? It's all my fault!" She continued cutting her wrist. After a while of careless cutting, she eventually dropped the knife and held herself. "I'm sorry Mom. I'm sorry Sota. I'm so sorry!" She weeped into her arms that were covered in blood. "Oh, Dad...you used to be so nice... But I remember now why you punish me so harshly..." She continued crying for what seemed like hours, until she fell asleep on the bathroom floor.

* * *

**A/N Is it okay? I'll be updating soon, cause I have some free time on my hands for the next few days. :D Please review, I want to know your opinions! **

**Bye!**


	3. Found Out

**Disclaimer: Like I've said before, I DON'T OWN INUYASHA! OR ANYTHING. ME OWNS NOTHING. OKAY? OKAY.**

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

Enjoyyyyy:3

* * *

Kagome woke up the next morning looking like she was run over by a car. She had blood everywhere on her body, her eyes were puffy from crying, and there were so many scratches on her arm you would probably believe her if she said she _was_ hit by a car. She pushed herself off the ground and walked slowly into her bedroom. She looked at the clock. "7:45...if I don't hurry I'll be late...aw well..." She just didn't feel like _caring_ that morning.

She went into her bathroom and used the sink to wash out the blood in her hair and on her arms and legs. She was thinking of blow-drying her hair, but decided not to risk Naraku hearing it. So she grabbed a towel and used it to dry her hair. Once her hair was somewhat dry, she brushed through it and put them in low pigtails. After that she grabbed her Wet Seal(A/N I don't own) bag and pulled out her new black with silver thread jeans and pulled them on. Then she grabbed her Hot Topic bag and grabbed a random shirt and put it on. She looked in the mirror and saw that she had put on her new Avenged Sevenfold T-shirt(A/N I don't own them, either). She then looked closely in the mirror and saw that she had a gash on her head from hitting the bathroom floor when she fell asleep the night before. _'You'd think I would've felt that...'_

She started looking around for something to cover it up. "Um...oh!" She exclaimed when she found her black beanie hat with ghosts all over it. She put it on and hoped that it wasn't against school rules. She looked at herself in the mirror to see if there was anything else that she needed to cover. That's when she remembered the cuts that went down the sides of both arms. Her eyes widened and she searched for her jacket. But alas, it could not be found. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no...what am I going to do?" That's when she remembered the arm sleeves she bought from Hot Topic(A/N I don't own) the day before. She got over to her shopping bags and fished out her black and blue striped arm sleeves, took the tags off, and pulled them on. The cotton stung her still fresh cuts, but she ignored it. She pulled on her combat boots and looked in the mirror. Shocked that she looked somewhat decent, she backed away from the mirror, grabbed her backpack, and left her room. She ran through the house and somehow managed to not run into Naraku. Sighing with relief, she made her way to school.

* * *

**A/N I know I focus on Kagome a little too much, but she IS the main character. But I'm trying to fit in a few more POVs of other characters, so...hopefully that works out.**

* * *

She got to school about 15 minutes late, and when she walked in everyone stared at her. But she just ignored them, gave her tardy slip to Myoga, and walked over to her seat. Her bangs covered her eyes, and she never looked up from her book. Inuyasha leaned towards her, "Hey...you okay?"

"Yea...fine...why do you ask?" Kagome quietly answered.

"Well, you got to school 15 minutes late, you've barely spoken a word- oh wait, that's normal...let's see, and you haven't uncovered your eyes once."

"Oh? Is that so..."

"Yea. It is so."

"Well, I'm sorry if that bothers you.."

"...Are you hiding something?" He would never admit it, but he actually did care if she was in trouble or not. He actually cared...for her. But he would never, ever say it out loud.

She looked a little more away from her desk to avoid his gaze. "No..."

"I think you are...look at me."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Cause..."

"Cause why?

"Um..."

He reached across the aisle and grabbed her arm, which made her wince in pain, but he didn't notice. "Look at me."

Kagome couldn't take the pain so she looked at him with tears in her eyes, "Please let go..." His eyes widened once he saw how puffy her eyes were, and how worn out she looked. He immediately let go of her arm."

"What happened to you-"

"Inuyasha! Pay attention and stop flirting with Kagome!" Myoga yelled at him.(A/N I used to have a teacher that did that all the time. Whenever two people were talking during class, he accused them of flirting in front of everyone. xD) Inuyasha blushed and everyone snickered. "I wasn't flirting! Just asking a question..."

"Sure you were, Inuyasha. Now get to work on your assignment."

Inuyasha at him stupidly, "What assignment?" More snickers could be heard, Inuyasha growled at them.

Myoga sighed, "More of reading the board, less of flirting with Miss Kagome."

"I WASN'T FLIRTING-"

"Yea, yea. Get to work."

Inuyasha went back to work without looking at Kagome, just to make sure he didn't get distracted again.

* * *

Rest of the day=uneventful. Let's skip to after school. (I'm so lazy)

* * *

**Miroku's POV**

I was waiting by my truck for Inuyasha and Sango. Did they even remember that we were going to check out Sango's new neighbors?

I was tapping the hood of my truck thinking these things, when a girl with short black hair, and very skin-tight clothes came up to me. I was hooked.

"Why, hello there." I bent down and kissed her hand. "Would you do me the honor of bearing my children?"

She blushed. "You don't even know my name..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Miss...?"

"My name is Yura. Yura Kobayashi."

I smirked, "Well, it's very nice to meet you. Now back to the question at hand, would you bear my-"

I couldn't finish my sentence because someone had hit me on the head. Hard. I turned around to see a fuming Sango, "Pervert..." she was enraged. And by enraged, I mean _enraged._ "My dearest Sango, how are you doing this fine afternoon?"

"Get in the truck and drive, Miroku." she opened the back door, jumped in, and slammed the door. I saw that Inuyasha was already in the front. This is going to be a long car ride...

* * *

**Sango's POV**

We got to my neighborhood about 10 minutes after the whole thing with Yura. Ugh, stupid Miroku. Stupid Yura. Why must he flirt with every single girl he sees? It's like he's in love with every beautiful woman on the planet. Can't he just choose _one_ and stop his lechery?

Wow. What has gotten into me. I shouldn't even care, Miroku is just my friend. He can date whoever he wants. Hmph.

"Uh...Sango?" Miroku snapped his fingers in front of my face. "Are you alive?"

I was taken out of my thoughts, I guess I didn't realize that while I was thinking about Miroku I was standing here looking into space. Woops.

"Ah, good. I was beginning to worry." Miroku sighed in relief.

Why should he care? I walked right past him and down the sidewalk. I could hear Miroku ask Inuyasha, "What's her deal?" But Inuyasha didn't answer and instead followed me. Or at least I think he did, judging from the footsteps behind me. I looked back and saw that they were both coming up from behind me. I walked to my new neighbor's house and knocked on the door. I looked behind me to make sure Inuyasha and Miroku were still there. They were. Inuyasha was doing something strange, he was sniffing the air. "Inuyasha? Why are you sniffing the air?"

He continued what he was doing, "I can smell the faint scent of...oh, what is it!"

Before he could figure it out, the front door of the house opened, revealing a girl in mostly black and blue with her head looking down.

"What do you want?"

I saw Miroku look closely at her, "...Kagome? Is that you?"

The girl lifted her head, and it was indeed Kagome. Her eyes widened at the sight of us. "W-what are you guys doing here?"

At first, I didn't know what to say. But then I finally spoke up, "Oh! So _you're_ the new neighbor! Well, that would explain why you ran over here the other day."

"Y-yea." Kagome looked back inside the house. She then quickly stepped out and closed the door behind her. "So, what do you want, again?"

Inuyasha said, "Oh, Sango wanted to meet her new neighbors, and we were with her so..."

Kagome nodded her head, "Okay, that makes sense..."

"Hey, if you don't mind, can we come in for a sec?"

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. She looked down while me, Miroku, and Inuyasha looked up to see who it was. At the door was a tall, pale man with long tangled black hair. He was wearing a blue sweater with baggy jeans. His eyes were menacing and had bags under them. He hair and clothes were so messy that you might think he had a hangover. He gave me the creeps. Suddenly, he spoke in a freaky voice, "Hello there. You must be Kagome's little friends...," he looked straight at Kagome who was still looking down, "Kagome, you didn't tell me you had friends..." Kagome lifted her head up, "T-they aren't my friends." I was kind of sad that she said that, but I had a feeling that she didn't mean it. Who I assume is her father said, "Are you sure?"

He looked straight at me, "Did you happen to take Kagome to the mall the other day?" Kagome looked at me with fear in her eyes. I could tell she was asking me to lie for her. So I said, "No. I didn't. I saw her there but she wasn't with anyone." I hope it was believable.

He glared at me, "Is that so?..."

Inuyasha now thought it was the perfect time to open his stupid mouth, "Huh? Sango I thought you did go to the mall with Kagome the other day. Along with Kagura, Kanna, Kirara, and Ayame."

I looked back at him with a what-the f*ck-is-wrong-with-you kind of look and Miroku hit him on the shoulder. I guess he saw the look Kagome gave me. Inuyasha stared at me confused, but then I think he got it. "Oh...uh, I mean...I'll just shut up now." I nodded my head and looked back at the strange man.

He smirked at me and Kagome, "Huh...well, isn't that interesting...," he turned his attention to Kagome,"I must meet all these _friends_ of yours, Kagome...now go to your room."

She looked up at him, "But-"

"No buts...go upstairs...now." He said this through clenched teeth, I could tell he was trying to contain his anger. Kagome ran back into the house. The man looked back at us, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I haven't introduced myself, have I? My name is Naraku. Naraku Higurashi. And I'm Kagome's father." He gave us a twisted smile, "I hope to see you three again..." And with that, he closed the door on us.

All three of us looked at each other, then slowly walked away from the house. As soon as we were at my house, we started talking. Inuyasha said, "Holy shit. What the f*ck was that?"

Miroku looked at him, "I have _no_ idea. That dude was freaky as hel."

I looked at both of them, "He gave me the creeps. Did you see him? Did you hear that freaky laugh he had? I thought he was going to murder us!" I plopped down on my bed.

Inuyasha then spoke quietly, "And while we were there, I figured out was the smell was..."

Me and Miroku looked at him, "What?" we said in unison.

Inuyasha sighed, "Blood."

* * *

**Regular POV**

Over the next few weeks Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku had told the group what happened with Kagome's father. So they had each tried talking to her, but none of them could get her to slip much information. Ayame tried to talk to her in History, which only she and Kagome had out of the group, and Kagome was being very secretive and hardly told her anything. Kirara tried in the hallway, but Kagome just ignored her and told her to lay off the energy drinks. Shippo gave it a shot when he ran into her at the park, but she just focused on writing in her journal. He tried seeing what she wrote, but she kept it close to her chest so only she could see it. Kagura blatantly asked if anything weird was up with her father, and Kagome got all nervous and walked away from her. Even Koga tried, but he was dragged away by Ayame who thought he was flirting with her. Kanna didn't really try, because she knew she wanted to keep to herself. But she was worried about her, so she planned on asking her about it today.

Kanna was in Kagome, Inuyasha, and Sango's gym class with them, but they never really noticed. She was always looking into space, so they let her keep to herself. When she had first got there, they were worried about her. But she eventually convinced them that she was okay, had a loving family, and that she just liked to be alone at times. So they respected her wishes.

Anyways, on with gym class.

Kanna had noticed that for the past few weeks Kagome had been either injured or making up excuses so that she could sit out. So she decided to talk to the coach before Kagome could.

"Coach?"

Coach Suikotsu turned around to see Kanna a few feet away from him, "Hello Kanna. What do you want?"

"I just wanted to say that Kagome had been looking like she's ready to play volleyball with us. I saw her this morning and she was walking fine. Talking fine. She didn't look sick. So she has no excuse to not do it."

Suikotsu tapped his chin, "Really? 'Bout time."

Just then Kagome walked into the gym and got herself over to Coach Suikotsu. "Hey coach, where should I sit today?"

"Oh, you're not sitting out today."

Kagome looked at him confused, "What?"

"You have no reason to. So here's your gym clothes," he handed her a tank top and shorts, "and be out here in 7 minutes, at the most. Chop chop!"

Kagome's eyes widened, "But-!"

"No buts! Kanna, take Kagome to the locker room."

"Yes, coach. Come on, Kagome." Kanna pushed Kagome in front of her towards the locker room entrance. Sango saw this and catched up to them. "Hey, Kagome. Finally gonna join us?"

Kagome was a nervous wreck, _'Oh no...this is not good...very, very NOT good...'_

Kanna and Sango gave each other a look, then gave Kagome one final push into the locker room. "Hurry up so that we don't have to wait on you!"

Kagome was all alone in there, freaking out. She was trying to figure out a way to cover herself up without getting in trouble for it. But in the end she reluctantly put on the clothes and looked in the mirror.

You could see almost every scar she had. The ones on her arms, legs...everything. She sighed and was about to leave, when she remembered something that she had in her pack...

All the students were already in their places, waiting for Kagome.

Bankotsu grumbled, "What's taking her so long!"

Kanna looked straight at him, "Patience."

He quickly looked away and shut up. Kanna freaked him out. Kanna freaked _everyone_ out, except for her friends, of course. But even they were sometimes slightly creeped out by the girl.

Everyone was growing impatient until they heard the sounds of sneakers on hardwood floor squeaking towards them. Everyone turned towards the noise and saw Kagome standing there in her gym clothes. Well...sort of. She _was_ wearing the gym clothes, but she was also wearing her hat, jacket, and tall converse(A/N Like the ones that go to your knee). Almost everyone in the class snickered at this. The coach finally spoke up, "Miss Kagome? The point of your gym uniform is that you only wear your gym uniform. Now, I'm going to ask you to take off your jacket, your hat, and change those converse into tennis shoes, you got that?"

"But I don't have any tennis shoes..."

"Well, bring some next time. For now I guess those are all right. But take that jacket off, or you'll be sweating like a pig. Along with that hat."

"But I don't mind."

"Well, I do. Take it off."

Kagome took off her jacket to reveal her arm sleeves. All the students snickered.

"...And the arm sleeves."

"Please just let me wear these!"

"Why?"

"Just...please..." she asked with pleading eyes. He sighed.

"Fine, keep the arm sleeves. But take off that hat."

She looked hesitant, but she slowly took it off, hoping that no one could notice the scar under her black hair. Then she thought how ridiculous that was, and threw the hat onto the bleachers. She then got into her place and simply stood there. Everyone stared at her for a moment, but went back to the game.

The volleyball game went on for awhile, Sango and Kagome were on the same team while Inuyasha was on the other. The volleyball went over the net hit Kagome. She wasn't really paying attention, so Hakudoshi decided to hit her to get her to pay attention.

He yelled, "Next time pay attention to the game, baka!"

Kagome was hit right in the arm and fell to her knees. She felt some of her wounds somehow reopen, and her sleeve started get soaked in blood. Sango saw this and her eyes widened, "Holy shit, Kagome! Are you okay?" Eventually everyone was surrounding Kagome as Inuyasha, Sango, and Coach Suikotsu sat besides her.

The coach said, "Kagome, take off the sleeves so that we can see the damage..."

Kagome tried to hide her arm, "I'm fine."

"No you're not, your sleeve is covered in blood. Now take it off!"

"No!"

"Take it off!"

"NO!"

Coach Suikotsu sighed in frustration, "Inuyasha, Sango, take her to the nurse's office."

"Sure thing." Inuyasha said as he got Kagome into a standing position.

"I said I was fine..." Kagome said quietly.

Sango spoke up, "No you're not, now come on." They dragged Kagome out of the gym and through the hallway to the nurse's office. They sat Kagome onto the table bed thing(A/N Not sure what it's called) and waited for the nurse to come in. Once she did, she took once look at the blood covered sleeve and grabbed her supplies. She sat next to Kagome and tried to take off the sleeve while Inuyasha and Sango closely watched. Kagome tried to get her arm away, but the nurse wouldn't let her. She finally got it off and everyone, except Kagome's, eyes widened in horror. They saw many scars on her arm, some were closed, some were open. "Oh my..." The old nurse said. "What has ye done to ye-self?"

Kagome started to cry, and turned to the nurse, "I-" her eyes suddenly widened in realization. "Kaede?" The nurse looked at Kagome, "Kagome?" Kagome suddenly smiled widely and hugged Kaede. "Kaede! I've missed you soooo much!" Kaede laughed, "I have missed ye as well, but let's get your arm fixed up before we get into that." Kaede took Kagome's other arm and took off the other sleeve. Again, there were little scars all the way up her arms. "Oh, Kagome...what has ye done?"

Kagome's eyes filled with tears once again, "I...I can't...I can't tell you..."

"You must tell us, Kagome!" Sango yelled, even though she was a bit confused as to how they knew each other.

"Your friend is right, Kagome. Ye must tell us."

Inuyasha walked up to her and looked Kagome straight in the eye, "Yea, Kagome...you can tell us anything..."

Kagome felt her face heat up, but she ignored it and continued to cry. "I can't tell you!"

"Yes you can! Please, we want to help you!" Inuyasha pushed.

"I..."

Sango grabbed Kagome's shoulders and made her look straight at her. "Why do you cut yourself, Kagome?"

Everything was silent. Too silent. But eventually Kagome croaked out, "I don't know why..."

Inuyasha was beginning to get angry, "Just tell us why so we can-!"

"We must respect Kagome's space...if she doesn't want to tell us, she doesn't have to..." Kaede said.

Sango and Inuyasha were somewhat shocked, until Kaede continued, "But ye will have to tell us eventually, Kagome. But until then, ye must stop harming ye-self." Kagome looked at Kaede and hugged her.

Her arm was now bandaged up(Kaede did that as they were talking), so she left the nurse's office. But Inuyasha and Sango stayed behind.

Inuyasha asked her, "Hey, old woman. How do you know Kagome?"

Kaede glared at him for a moment, but then sighed, "Me and Kagome met when she was in the hospital at the age of ten."

Sango turned towards her, "Hospital? What was she doing in the hospital? Broken leg or something?"

"I wish I could say it was just a broken leg that got her there..."

Inuyasha and Sango looked at each other then back at Kaede, "Well, continue!"

Kaede sighed, "Well, 7 years ago Kagome's house caught on fire. Her mother and brother, Sota, died in that fire. Kagome was the only survivor. Her father was at work when it happened. She was went to the hospital after they rescued her, but pretty much had to strap her to the stretcher to keep her from going back to save them. She eventually passed out, but once she woke up and found out they were dead, she pretty much had a nervous breakdown. And it didn't help when she also found out that it was her lamp that cause the fire. She blamed herself for the whole thing."

Sango felt tears coming to her eyes and Inuyasha just stood there in shock. _'Poor Kagome...'_

"Both of ye should get to ye's classes. Wouldn't want ye to be late."

"Yea, yea..." They both mumbled as they left. Once they got out the door, Sango asked Inuyasha, "Can you believe it?"

"No, I can't..."

"Believe what?"

They both turned to see Miroku standing there. "Oh, hey Miroku..." Sango spoke quietly.

"So, what's with the faces? You guys look like you just saw a ghost."

Sango then explained to Miroku what happened. "Man...I'm never there to see anything! It's always you two! Ughhhh..."

They both looked at him. He noticed them staring. "And poor Kagome, too..."

"Uh-huh." Sango said as she hit him upside the head. "So anyways, what should we do about Kagome? She's definitely hiding something, and it goes beyond cutting herself. And it has to do with that creepy dad of hers..."

Miroku shivered slightly, "Man, that dude was scary."

Inuyasha finally spoke after remaining quiet throughout this entire conversation. "I think we should investigate a little..."

Miroku and Sango turned to him and said at the same time, "How so?"

"Jinx." Miroku said which received him a punch against the shoulder by Sango.

"Anyways," Inuyasha continued, "we go to Kagome's house after school. But we won't tell her or knock on her door. Instead we'll listen in and look through the windows."

"Is that legal?"

"Who cares?"

"Let's do it." They all nodded their heads and left so that Inuyasha and Sango could change back into their regular clothes. Then they all went to their separate classes.

* * *

*Skips to after school because I'm too lazy to write the rest of the school day*

* * *

Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango slowly walked through the bushes around the Higurashi house, trying not to make any noise.

"Miroku, you're being too loud!"

"Sango, no I'm not. I'm being as quiet as possible. But I can't say the same for you..."

"WHAT!" she whispered/shouted.

Inuyasha hushed them, "Both of you shut it!"

They all became quiet and looked through a window that looked into the living room. They saw Kagome sitting there, reading a book. She kept looking up every few seconds in a paranoid way as if something was coming for her. She kept up this routine until she looked towards the ceiling and just watched it, as if hearing footsteps in the floor above. Suddenly her eyes widened and she closed her book. She got up and was about to leave, when Naraku stepped in her way. Inuyasha could barely hear with his dog ears. He was repeating quietly to Miroku and Sango what they were saying inside. "Hello Kagome...would you sit down for a moment?" They saw Kagome walk back to where she was sitting and sat back down. "What do you want, Naraku..." Naraku stood right in front of the couch, looking down upon her. "I want you to fess up." Kagome looked up at Naraku, "Fess up? For what?" Naraku glared back down at her. "For revealing your cuts today in school. They called me, telling me what happened, you know...Were you planning on tattling on me, bitch?" Inuyasha snarled a little at what he called Kagome. She started to speak again, "But, they only saw the cuts _I_ inflicted. They didn't suspect you at all!" "Sure they didn't. I bet you were planning on telling all your little _friends_ about me hitting you." Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha's eyes widened in realization.

"He beats her?" Sango whispered.

Miroku quickly said, "Guess so, we have to keep watching." They all turned their attention back to the people in the house. Inuyasha continued whispering what they were saying. "You know they're only your friends because they pity you. They noticed how disgusting, ugly, and pathetic you are...They felt sorry for you. That's the only reason they have stuck around. You should have seen this coming. That's why I told you you couldn't have friends...because I was _protecting_ you. But you just never listen... I give you all that you ask, and yet you still want more... You're such a selfish little brat." "That's not true..." Kagome clenched her hands into fists. "What are you talking about? Of course it's true." "I know it was my fault. I know I killed mom and Sota. I know I deserved my punishment. But I did not deserve an on-going punishment that lasted seven years." Naraku looked enraged and grabbed Kagome by the collar of her shirt and picked her up the ground. "Of course you did! You killed your own mother and brother! You're a monster! And I can't stand you any longer." He threw Kagome at the far wall. He stalked over to her and picked her up again, then threw her at the other wall. She fell to the ground hard, and tried getting up, but failed to do so. Naraku slowly walked over to Kagome's side. He kicked her in the stomach multiple times, and punched her in the face. Finally, Inuyasha couldn't take it. He ran around the house and kicked the door down. He got himself to the living room and saw Kagome in a pool of her own blood. Inuyasha then looked at Naraku. "You bastard!"

Inuyasha jumped onto Naraku and pinned him down. They wrestled on the floor while Sango helped Kagome onto her feet. Miroku was calling the police, who would arrive any minute. Naraku threw Inuyasha off of him and stood up. He walked over to Inuyasha and punched him in the face.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed. She tried running over there, but was unable to.

Inuyasha had quickly recovered and kicked Naraku in the shins getting him to fall on the ground. He repeatedly kicked him in the stomach, "That's! What! You! Get! For! Hurting! My! Kagome!" Kagome's eyes widened and filled with tears.

He wasn't really aware of what he had just said, but instead continued pounding on Naraku. Eventually the police arrived and took Naraku into custody. Kagome couldn't hold it in any longer and she burst into tears. Inuyasha held her until the ambulance people came inside and took her away.

* * *

**Well? Is it okay? I hope it is. :o **

**It's not a big deal to me, but if you have the time, please review! I would love to hear your thoughts.**

**Next chapter will be coming soon...**


	4. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: FAIRLY IMPORTANT.**

I'm soooooooooooo sorry I haven't been updating! I suck, I know. But fear not, piglets, for I am working very hard on Chapter 4 for What Was Once Forgotten. It's mainly about Kagome in the hospital, and such. I'll be trying to put it up sometime during the next week. I hope no one has abandoned this story.

Until then...


	5. Where Am I?

**Disclaimer: *sigh* I've said this before. I don't own Inuyasha. I don't own _anything._**

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

Dear people who reviewed, you're freaking awesome! xD

Enjoy~

* * *

Kagome woke up in a blinding light. She covered her eyes with her arms but quickly put them back when the IVs tugged at them. Wait...IVs? What are those doing there...

"Kagome.." A voice spoke.

Kagome's eyes widened and she sat up to see who the voice belonged to, but she laid back down when she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Okay...what was going on?

"Kagome, don't sit up! You'll hurt yourself!" The mysterious voice yelled.

Kagome tried looking around again, "Where am I? Who are you?"

The voice didn't say anything for awhile, but then it chuckled, "It's me. Inuyasha. You're in the hospital."

"Oh...Inuyasha? W-what happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"Well...I remember bits and pieces of what happened..."

"Which parts?" Inuyasha asked, hoping she didn't remember when he said the 'My Kagome' stuff.

**Flashback**

_"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed. She tried running over there, but was unable to._

_Inuyasha had quickly recovered and kicked Naraku in the shins getting him to fall on the ground. He repeatedly kicked him in the stomach, "That's! What! You! Get! For! Hurting! My! Kagome!" Kagome's eyes widened and filled with tears._

**End Flashback**

"I remember...when you guys came in...and I remember when...Naraku hit you...and I remember..."

"Yea, remember what?" Inuyasha asked quickly.

"...Nothing." Truth was, she did remember when he called her his. But she didn't want to tell him, because she knew he just said it in the spur of the moment. She sighed sadly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm going to go for a bit. You look like you need some rest. Be back later."

She sighed again. _'He's pretty dense for a half demon.'_

_

* * *

_He was walking out of the room when he was stopped by Miroku. "Hey Miroku."

"Hey...so, how's Kagome doing?"

Inuyasha looked in the room to see Kagome sitting there looking exhausted. His eyes softened.

"She's doing okay, I guess..."

"Good, I'm glad...Hey, Inuyasha? I know this isn't really an appropriate time, but I have to know. You know that thing you said at Kagome's house?" Inuyasha cocked his head to the side. Miroku continued, "About..the, you know, 'My Kagome' stuff?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened, "Uh...W-why? What about it?"

Miroku looked at him as if he grew a second head. " 'What about it'? It's kind of a big deal!"

"I don't see how.."

Miroku just stared at him. Inuyasha started to crack at the suspense. He growled, "What is it!"

"Why did you say it? Wait a second..You like her, don't you?" Miroku smirked.

Inuyasha blushed slightly, "W-what are you talking about?"

Miroku ignored Inuyasha and continued, "I can't believe I didn't notice this before! The way you'd stare at her in class, how you always seem in a daze every time she comes around-"

"I DON'T DAZE!"

Miroku acted as if he didn't hear him, "-and how you were always teasing her."

Inuyasha's anger washed away, and was replaced with confusion, "How does _that_ prove that I like her?"

Miroku turned fully to Inuyasha and pointed an accusing finger while smirking, "AH HA! So you _admit_ it!"

Inuyash'a eyes widened and he blushed, "WHA? No I didn't!" He hit Miroku on the head. "Idiot..."

"I may be an idiot, but at least not a fool. A fool in _loooove_." He dragged on the word 'love' in a taunting manner.

Inuyasha's eye twitched, "I-I'm not in love with her! Plus, who are you to talk? You're head over heels for Sango."

Miroku blushed at this, "H-huh? I have absolutely no idea what you are referring to, Inuyasha.."

"Oh, come on! I've been friends with you guys since middle school. I may be dense, but I'm not _that_ dense."

Miroku continued to blush many shades of red. Inuyasha smirked, seeing that he was right.

Miroku spoke, "Well, s-shut up! At least I don't-...hey, wait a second. Don't change the subject!"

Inuyasha tried to put on an innocent act, "Change the subject? I have no idea what you're talking about."

Miroku sighed, "Fine. Back to the Kagome thing. Let's say you _didn't_ mean what you said at the house. Even though you did..." He mumbled the last part. Inuyasha eyed him suspiciously. Miroku decided to continue, "So then why did you say it?"

Inuyasha looked at the ground, trying his best to think of an excuse. He knew the real reason. Because in actuality, he _did_ like Kagome. A lot, actually. He wasn't sure why, or how it happened, but Inuyasha realized that he really liked her. Maybe even...

No. He just met her not too long ago! A few weeks, at most. And yet...he felt so...so..._protective_ of her. He couldn't get this weird feeling off his chest when he thought of her. But recently, Inuyasha had only thought with worry and concern when it came to Kagome. _'That bastard...doing that to Kagome...'_

"Uhhh...Inuyasha? Can you hear me?" Miroku waved his hand over Inuyasha's face in an attempt to get him out of his thoughts. Inuyasha's eyes snapped, as if his concentration had just been broken.

"Wha?" Inuyasha asked stupidly. Miroku spoke again, "I asked you a question."

Inuyasha looked at him with the dumbest look on his face, "What question?"

Miroku smacked his own forehead, and sighed, "I asked you why you called Kagome yours, even though you claim you didn't mean it."

Inuyasha gulped. "Um..well, you see.."

"Yeeeesss?" Miroku said, his patience slowly disappearing.

"Um..."

A few 'um's and 'uh's later, Miroku had had it, "F*CK, INUYASHA, GET ON WITH IT!"

Inuyasha stopped talking and stared at Miroku. He blinked once. Then twice. A third time.

Miroku sighed, "Just admit that you like her, man. Because if you haven't noticed already, Kagome's in the hospital. We don't really have time for you to deny your feelings."

Inuyasha sighed, knowing Miroku was right. But how could he admit his feelings, if even _he_ didn't know what they were? I guess he'll just have to improvise till he gets it figured out...

"It was just a spur of the moment thing. It wasn't even a big deal! I didn't know what I was saying. I didn't mean what I said. And I _don't _like Kagome! At all! Geez, you say _one_ thing and everyone freaks out about it.."

Miroku stared at him for a moment, not really believing his friend. Then he looked back into the hospital room where Kagome was, and immediately regretted asking Inuyasha his question there.

"Crap..." He said.

Inuyasha lifted his head, "What?"

That's when he noticed it. The scent of salty tears being shed not too far away. He pushed Miroku out of his way and looked into Kagome's room. His eyes widened, and a feeling of guilt washed over him. For there was Kagome, fully awake, and softly crying. She was just sitting there, with his hands in her lap, and her head down. Even though you couldn't see her eyes, you could see the trails of tears going down her cheeks. Her lips were quivering slightly, and were slightly open. When she noticed the two boys at her door staring at her, she immediately closed her mouth and swallowed. Kagome put her head down a little, completely hiding her face from view. Miroku looked at her with concern, and then glared at Inuyasha. He punched him in the arm and whispered, "Go!"

Miroku walked away to give them some privacy.

Inuyasha glared at Miroku's back as he rubbed his arm. Then he looked back at Kagome and his eyes immediately softened. She was still just sitting there. He slowly walked over to her and sat on the edge of the hospital bed.

"I'm so sorry..."

Kagome swallowed, then answered him, "Why are you sorry, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha got an awfully guilty look on his face, "Well, because...I, uh..."

Kagome lifted her hand up to her face that hid behind her bangs and quickly tried wiping away her tears. She then lifted her head and smiled, "Because you what? Said how you felt? That's nothing to apologize for."

Inuyasha looked at her and felt like someone had just stabbed him in the heart. She looked so sad...even with that obviously forced smile on her face. His eyes softened, "But I didn't mean it.."

Kagome looked sightly shocked, but quickly put on a sad smile, "You don't have to lie to make me feel better, Inuyasha.."

Inuyasha's eyes widened, "But, I'm not lying!"

"Just admit it. You didn't mean what you said at the house...and you _did _mean what you said here...You don't care about me...The only reason you saved me is because you just happened to be there.."

_'What? That's way off! I saved her because I _do _care for her...' _Inuyasha shook his head, and then lied to himself, _'Only as a friend, of course...'_

"That's not true! You're...you're very special to me...Kagome..."

Kagome's eyes widened, "W-what?"

Inuyasha looked back up to her, "Listen, Kagome, I don't really know what's going on. I feel like I've known you for years...and yet we met only a few weeks ago. It's all so strange to me...I hardly know you, and I thought I hated you before..."

Kagome's eyes saddened. Inuyasha noticed and quickly reworded what he had just said, "I mean! Uh, well...not hate, per say. You seemed a little bit...closed off. Distant. I found it kind of annoying at first. But now I realize why..." He took her hand in his own, "You've been through a lot, and I regret ever being mean to you...I consider you a-" He stopped and caught himself, "A friend. I consider you a, uh, friend."

"Really..?"

Inuyasha smiled at her, "Really."

"Then..why did you say what you said before? That you don't like me. Not as a friend or... anything else."

He looked slightly guilty, "W-well...because I'm slightly embarrassed..."

"Embarrassed..?"

"Yea. How would you feel if you accidently called someone yours when they technically aren't?" He laughed a bit.

Kagome thought about it, then laughed with him, "I guess I understand. That _would_ be pretty embarrassing."

The two continued laughing, and then started to look at each other. It seemed like the whole world had stopped. They stared into each other's eyes, and just could look away.

Inuyasha and Kagome started to slowly move towards each other without either really noticing. Their faces were about an inch apart, when the door flew open on the other side of the room.

There was Sango with Miroku right behind her. She looked pissed. Obviously, Miroku had told her what had happened. "What is wrong with you, Inuyasha! Don't you-" That's when she saw her two friend's close proximity to each other. Inuyasha and Kagome both blushed and quickly moved away from each other.

Sango's angry expression turned into a smirk, "Well, well, well. Look what we have here.."

Kagome continued to blush and looked down at her hands in embarrassment. Inuyasha was red in the face as well, but inwardly smiled at Kagome's shyness. He turned towards Sango, "I-it's not what it looks like! I-I...I..." He trailed off when he noticed something different between Sango and Miroku. Inuyasha's embarrassed expression quickly turned into a smirk.

"So, Sango. Miroku. Mind explaining why you two are holding hands?"

Sango and Miroku both blushed and looked down at their hands. They were, indeed, intwined with each other. The two quickly let go and stepped away from each other. Kagome had seen this and giggled slightly. Inuyasha heard this and turned towards her. When he noticed her laughing, he smiled.

The four soon got over their embarrassment and talked amongst themselves. Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango were all careful not to mention Kagome's father or her past. They talked about all kinds of things. Movies to see, people to avoid, video games to play... Well, mainly Miroku and Inuyasha talked about video games, for the girls weren't really video gamers. Well, Kagome liked them, but she didn't have any Xboxes or PS2s to play them on. Sango just thought they were stupid.

After a few hours of chatting, a nurse came in and told them visiting hours were over. She walked out to let them say goodbye to Kagome. Sango turned to Kagome, who, even though she almost never talked and she just met her a month ago, she considered one of her best friends. "Bye, Kagome! I'll bring your homework from the classes you miss while you're here...So, um, bye! We're going to miss you a lot at school."

Kagome smiled at Sango, "Why would you guys miss me? I barely talked to you guys, I was kind of rude.."

"No you weren't. Plus, I still think you're a great friend. Like, remember two weeks ago when-" She stopped herself. She couldn't say that in front of _him_.

You see, a couple weeks before, Sango ran into Kagome in the hallway during class...

**FLASHBACK**

_Sango had just left class, with tears in her eyes. She had seen Miroku flirting with yet _another_ woman. But that wasn't the worst part. What would that be, you ask? The girl he was flirting with was her cousin. Her _cousin. _So she had a reason to be angry with him. The thing she couldn't figure out was why she was crying..._

_The tears blinded her vision and she ran into someone. She looked up and barely saw Kagome standing in her usual attire with her blurry vision. Sango usually didn't want to seem vulnerable around anyone, but she really needed to vent. _

_"Sango-chan..? Are you okay?" Kagome asked. _

_Sango started bawling and hugged Kagome. She cried on her shoulder mumbling, 'Stupid hentai'. Kagome was shocked, and slightly uncomfortable. But she could see how upset her friend was, so she patted Sango on the back, comforting her. After about five minutes, Sango had calmed down slightly and pulled away from Kagome. "I'm sooo sorry, Kags. I got a little too emotional from seeing-" She stopped herself. More tears came to her eyes and she let one roll down her cheek. Kagome pulled her into the bathroom down the hall to help her clean up. _

_Once they got in, Kagome looked at her in concern, "What's wrong, Sango-chan? You can tell me." Kagome smiled a small smile at her._

_Sango started washing her face using the water in the sink, and she looked at Kagome in the mirror. "I saw Miroku with another girl..."_

_Kagome looked knowingly at her friend, "I understand. But, not to be rude, but what makes this different from the...other times?"_

_Sango continued to wash her face, and she put on a sad smile. "Well, I feel like this every time I see him with another woman," She confessed. "It's just that...what kind of an inconsiderate bastard flirts with their friend's COUSIN?"_

_Kagome gasped slightly, then put her hand on Sango's back in a friendly manner. "I'm sure he feels bad...Maybe he didn't know she was your cousin."_

_"Yes, he did!"_

_Kagome looked at Sango, "Even so, he probably feels bad. And don't feel threatened, Sango-chan. He's only got eyes for you." Kagome winked at her and laughed. Sango blushed, "W-what are you talking about?"_

_"Oh come on, Sango. It's obvious that Miroku's practically in love with you. Everyone sees it. Except for you, of course. And you love him."_

_Sango blushed harder, "I-I don't love that lecher!"_

_Kagome sighed, "Sango, would you be crying over him if you didn't love him? I think not."_

_Sango continued to blush, but nodded her head. "I guess you're right..."_

_Kagome smiled, "I know I am. I see the way you look at each other. I may seem like I don't pay attention, but I do."_

_Sango had just finished drying her face with a paper towel, so he threw it away, and turned to Kagome. She embraced her in a friendly hug. "Thank you, Kagome. You know, you really are a great friend."_

_Kagome smiled and hugged her friend back awkwardly. "You're welcome. And, uh, thanks.."_

_Sango pulled away from the hug and apologized, "Shit! I messed up your jacket from crying all over it! I'm so sorry!"_

_Kagome felt her shoulder, and discovered it to be damp from Sango's tears. Kagome simply shrugged, "It's okay. Doesn't really matter."_

_"Really?"_

_Kagome smiled at her friend, "Really. Now come on, before our teachers send people to look for us."_

_The two friends walked out of the bathroom and went their separate ways. Sango was kind of surprised Kagome opened up a little to comfort her. _

_Sango smiled, and that smile soon turned into a frown when she saw her classroom door. She sighed and walked in, hoping no one knew she had been crying not five minutes ago._

**FLASHBACK END**

Sango gulped. She gave a look that said 'help me' to Kagome when the boys gave them suspicious looks. Kagome smiled slightly, and said, "You mean when I got you that button at the mall because you didn't have your money with you? Ah, it was nothing." Sango sighed with relief, "I owe you one, Kagome!" Kagome smiled at the double meaning.

The boys didn't seem convinced, but, they decided to drop it.

"Okay...Sango, you coming? You said we could go to McDonald's after this." Miroku pouted. Sango rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. Come on. Man, Miroku, you're such a kid.."

They started to walk towards the door, Miroku behind Sango, "Believe me, my dearest Sango. I am definitely _not_ a kid." He grabbed Sango's butt.

Bad move.

Sango grabbed his hand, put it next to her head. She then pulled Miroku over her shoulder. His body hit the ground _very _hard.

Miroku groaned loudly, while Sango just walked around him, "Come on, or else McDonald's isn't an option."

Miroku immediately pulled himself off the ground and walked beside Sango. They started talking and Inuyasha and Kagome could see Sango laughing in the distance.

"We have _got _to get those two together." Inuyasha said. Kagome just nodded. He turned towards her and smiled a warm smile. Rarely anyone saw it, but he allowed it to make a special appearance on his face, just for Kagome. Why? He had no idea at the moment.

"Well, I have to go." He said.

"Yea, I know.." Kagome replied.

It suddenly got kind of awkward. Inuyasha put his hand behind his head awkwardly and said, "Uh, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Oh, I'm visiting you tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Does it matter?" He grumbled.

"I guess not.."

"Okay then. See you tomorrow."

Kagome looked up at him and smiled, "See you tomorrow."

Inuyasha was momentarily staring at Kagome's beautiful face, but immediately got himself together. "Uh-um..bye.." He covered his blush with his bangs and walked out of the room, leaving Kagome alone.

Kagome's smile was still on her face, but as soon as Inuyasha disappeared from view, it dropped to a frown.

They bought it.

They didn't realize how much torment Kagome was still suffering from. She was somewhat appreciative that they avoided the subject of her past during their discussions. But, she still had these feelings hanging over her heart. Feelings of hurt, torture, and abandonment.

She felt hurt from her father's actions and words. She felt tortured from knowing her mother and brother's death was her fault. And she felt abandoned from her dad forgetting his feelings of fatherly love towards her, and replacing them with pure hatred.

Kagome's eyes started to fill with tears, and she pulled her knees to her chest. She put her arms around her legs, despite the IVs refusing to be moved. She ignored the sharp pain in her stomach that came from Naraku repeatedly kicking her. She didn't care. In fact, she wanted the pain. Because she _deserved _it. For some unknown reason, she wished her father were there to hit her again, and again, and again.

Because she'd rather be forced to suffer from physical pain, than suffer from the emotional pain of losing her mother, brother, and her own father. She knew he was gone. She knew he'd never come back.

Because now, instead of the loving man she used to call 'daddy', there's an older, dirty, monster that beats her everyday for her sins.

And why is he there? Why did he replace her _real _father? She asked herself this question everyday of her life since the whole thing started. And she always got the same answer.

Because it was all her fault.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Well? Is it okay? I hope so. ****Kinda short, I know. I'm sorry~ **

**And sorry I haven't been updating much. I will try harder! *superhero pose***

**I thank all of you who reviewed. *hugs all around* ...****Sorry, was that awkward? **

**Well, too bad. I'm a huggy person. Deal with it.**

**Btw, NO. THIS STORY IS NOT FINISHED. Not even close. **

**I shall start working on Chapter 5 immediately. I'll _try_ to update sooner than I did with this chapter.**

**Until next time~**


	6. A New Home?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, I don't own anything, blah blah blah, you know the drill.**

Dear people who reviewed, I love you. :D  
Sorry, was that too forward? Well, too bad, I love you guys. And I thank you for putting up with me writing a chapter, then not updating for awhile. I had an intense writer's block, that I didn't get out of till last week. I got most of it finished last week, until I got really lazy and didn't completely finish it till today. xD I hope this chapter is okay.

Here is the next chapter, as promised. Sorry for taking so long. Enjoy~

* * *

**Chapter 5: A New Home?**

Kagome had been in the hospital for a few weeks. They would have released her sooner, but they kept finding problems with her.

First, they found five and three inch scars on her back, legs, stomach, and hips. Kagome had refused to say how she got them, though the doctors knew it was her father. Then, they discovered the place where a gash had been on her head. It was hidden by her long ebony hair, so they hadn't noticed it before. Kagome also seemed to have some digestive problems from not eating as much as a teenager should. They nursed her back to health from all of these symptoms. Then there was the issue with the cuts along her arms and wrists...

They noticed it from the very beginning, but decided not to prod her with questions about it. But now that she was better, they had to have a talk with her. So, after a while, they decided to put her into therapy. They also decided to keep her another week to make sure nothing else was wrong. Kagome talked to the psychiatrist during the week she was still in the hospital. She basically faked a "breakthrough" and got out of it, so that she didn't have to continue to go back even when she got out of the hospital.

And as far as her living situation after she left the hospital was concerned, Kagome would stay at Sango's with her and her family until a permanent living situation was made.

Eventually, the hospital deemed her well enough to leave the hospital after a month. All of her friends, meaning Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Kirara, Ayame, and the rest of the group, came so that they could all hang out. Plus, the rest of the group wanted to see her, since over the past month, only Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku came for daily visits. The rest just came every once in a while, even though they wished they could have come more often.

They were all sitting in the waiting room, hoping the time Kagome would come out would arrive soon. Finally, Kagome walked through the doors and smiled a small smile at her friends. They all grinned back.

Kirara jumped out of her seat and hugged Kagome right then. Kagome was slightly shocked, but hugged her back anyways. Eventually, Ayame, Sango, and Kagura joined in. Their group hug was interrupted when Inuyasha growled at them, "Hey, give her some space, will ya!" He pulled them off of Kagome and stood in front of Kagome, arms crossed.

Kagura smirked at Inuyasha, "Heh. Protective of Kagome, are we, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha blushed at this, "No, I'm not!"

Sango stood next to Kagura, with a smirk of her own set on her face, "Is the almighty Inuyasha blushing?" The entire group, except Kagome and Inuyasha, snickered.

"SHUT UP!"

Everyone laughed at their friend. Koga walked up to Inuyasha and put an arm around his shoulders in a friendly manner. "Oh, come on, no need to get worked up 'bout it."

Inuyasha just grumbled and pushed off Koga's arm. Miroku whispered to Shippo, "Inuyasha's totally whipped."

"I AM NOT WHIPPED. WE'RE NOT EVEN DATING, YOU IDIOTS."

Everyone laughed and walked out of the waiting room, leaving a growling Inuyasha and a silent Kagome. He turned towards her and asked, "So, you ready?"

She blinked in confusion, "Ready for what?"

Inuyasha answered, "To hang out with us. Duh."

"Oh...okay..."

Inuyasha lead her out of the hospital. They found their friends in the parking lot waiting for them. Everyone split up and got into different cars. Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku took Miroku's truck, while Koga got into his with Ayame. Kagura had Kirara, Shippo, and Kanna riding with her. They all went to Wacdonald's and ordered a bunch of hamburgers, french fries and sodas. They all talked about what had happened at school since Kagome's...er, accident.

Shippo was laughing as he told his story, "...so then, Kirara stood on the lunch table and sang 'Bohemian Rhapsody' really loud. The entire cafeteria stared at her, while she belted it out; insisting that she wouldn't come down from the table until she was finished."

By the end, everyone was laughing except for Kirara. She humph-ed and crossed her arms, "It's not _my_ fault you guys let me have energy drinks.."

Shippo, who was sitting next to her, patted her shoulder, "It's okay. It was bound to happen some time."

After about an hour of conversing and catching up(everyone carefully avoided Kagome's issues with her father) at Wacdonald's, everyone was full and ready to leave. So, they all got up and threw their trash away, then walked out of the restaurant and into their designated drivers' cars. Everyone went their separate ways.

The car ride to Sango's house was quite awkward, considering the fact that Kagome was being almost completely silent and the others weren't sure what to talk about. But, eventually, they arrived at Bone Eater's Drive and were closing in on Sango's home. Once they got there, Miroku stopped his truck and put it in park. Sango had already gotten out and was now at the back of the truck, taking out Kagome's small amount of luggage. Miroku then got out with her.

Inuyasha looked to the seat beside him where Kagome was, and noticed that she was looking around the passenger seat and out the front window. He followed her line of vision and he realized why she was staring so intensely out the window.

For about five houses down, there was the place Kagome once lived with her bastard of a father. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed at the sight of it, then he turned towards Kagome. She looked horrified. Absolutely horrified. His eyes softened slightly and he put his hand on her shoulder. Kagome directed her attention from the window to Inuyasha. He was staring at her, and in return, she looked at him confused.

Slowly, and awkwardly, he put his arms around her in a sort of hug. Kagome's eyes widened a great deal. But eventually, she smiled softly and hugged him back. They stayed in that somewhat awkward, yet somewhat comforting, position for a few moments until Kagome pulled back. She smiled at him and said softly, "Thank you."

Inuyasha blinked, then slightly smirked back, "No problem."

Kagome continued to smile as she turned away from him and opened her door. She climbed out of it and walked onto the street before closing her door. Inuyasha also got out of the car so that he could sit in the front seat. Kagome walked around and grabbed one of her two bags from Sango, helping. The two walked to Sango's porch where they turned around and waved at Inuyasha and Miroku, who had gotten back into the truck. The boys waved back before driving off.

Sango led Kagome into her home after unlocking and opening the front door. Sango called out, "Dad! Kohaku! We're here!"

A few moments later, a young boy with brown hair pulled into short ponytail showed up. "Oh, hey Sango. Is that Kagome?"

Sango smiled, "Yea, this is Kagome," she answered pointing to her, "Hey, Kohaku, where's dad?"

Kohaku looked thoughtful for a moment. "I bet he's in his office. I'll go get him," he answered walking away.

Sango smiled after her younger brother, then turned towards Kagome. Sango was somewhat shocked to find a very grim expression on her friend's face. "Kagome? Are you okay?"

Kagome looked at Sango, the same look on her face, "Yea, I-I'm fine..."

"No you're not. What's wrong, Kags?" Sango asked, using Kagome's nickname to try and get her to fess up.

Kagome instantly removed her sad expression and replaced it with an obviously fake smile, "Nothing's wrong. Really!"

Sango quirked her eyebrow, but decided to leave it alone. After all, the girl _did_ just get out of the hospital. She should be given some space.

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard down the hall and after a few seconds, Kohaku and a tall man walked towards the two girls. He had a bright smile on his face as he greeted them, "Welcome, Kagome, to our humble abode. How are you doing today?"

Kagome gulped, "F-fine..."

The man laughed, "No need to be shy! You _will_ be living with us, after all."

Sango turned towards Kagome, "That's dad. I know he might seem dorky and maybe a little annoying," Sango eyed her father while he acted confused, "...but he's okay once you get to know him."

Kagome looked between the family before her, "Okay..."

Sango's father clapped his hands together, "Well good! How about we all get to dinner? It just finished."

Kagome spoke up, "Actually, I k-kinda want to unpack my bags first...if you don't mind..."

"Of course not! You go right ahead."

Sango picked Kagome's bags off of the floor, "I'll help you, if you want-" She was interrupted when Kagome grabbed her bags away from her and said, "Actually, I'd rather just unpack by myself..."

Sango looked at her friend closely, "You won't _try_ anything, will you?..."

Kagome smiled, "Of course not. Do you really think I'm dumb enough to do that right after I got out of the hospital? Plus, I don't even have any sharp objects with me..."

Sango pondered this while her father and brother stood off to the side, confused. Finally, Sango came out with her final verdict, "_Fine._ But if you try anything..."

"I won't. Trust me, San." Kagome spoke, using Sango's nickname to help her case.

Sango sighed, "Alright, alright. Your room is up the stairs," she pointed where to go as she said it, "...down the hallway, to the left, and it's the first door on the right side."

Kagome nodded her head, "Okay...well, uh, see you guys..." She started to go up the stairs and towards her assigned room.

As soon as they heard a door slam, Sango was faced with the confused and eager faces of her brother and father.

Kohaku spoke first, "What did you mean by _'try anything'_, Sango?"

Sango gulped, "Well..."

Her father was the next to speak up, "And what did she mean by _'sharp objects'_?"

Sango asked, "I never old you?" The two boys shook their heads, confused.

Sango sighed and looked towards the stairs, making sure Kagome wasn't there. After a few seconds of reassurance, she turned towards Kohaku and her father, and whispered, "Well...Kagome used to cut herself."

The two men gasped. Then Kohaku got a slightly disgusted look on his face, and said, "Ew...that's so gross!"

Sango glared at her younger brother, silently telling him to shut the hell up. Sango's father cleared his throat, "Oh, wow...why would she do that?"

Sango sighed, "Looooong story..."

* * *

Kagome looked around her new room. It was average sized, and she didn't mind that it was fairly plain. There was a full sized bed that was on the right side of the room, directly opposite from the closet. There was a door next to the bed and nightstand, which Kagome assumed was the bathroom. She looked to the wall on the opposite side of the room and noticed a small window. She set her luggage on the bed and she walked over to it. Kagome opened the window and stuck her head out, breathing in the night air. She looked to the sky above, which was decorated with beautiful white dots called stars. Somewhere in the mix, there was the giant sphere known as the moon, and Kagome just stared at it, relaxed. Then she started to remember meeting Sango's family downstairs, and her eyes saddened.

Kagome brought her head back in and she closed the window. She sat on the bed and sighed as a silent tear found it's way down her face and onto her chin.

That boy Kohaku looked to be the same age Souta would have been, if he was still...

Kagome hurriedly opened her bag and she rummaged through hit. She eventually brought forth a small bag of rubber bands, and she quickly opened it. She took off her jacket and pulled a rubber band onto her arm. She began to snap it onto her wrist and she continued to do that for about five minutes.

Kagome was given the bag of rubber bands by her psychiatrist at the hospital, as a therapy. Whenever she felt the urge to cut, she just had to snap the rubber bands on her arm. It was supposed to give the same relief, without the danger. But Kagome knew that it wasn't the same. It wasn't even _close_ to feeling the same. Nothing could beat the feeling of that blade on you arm. It felt so cool, and the satisfying pain that came from after digging it into your skin...it couldn't be beat. Not to mention the sight of your own blood slowly oozing out of the cuts, making trails down your arm...

Kagome closed her eyes as she thought about it. She started snapping the rubber bands faster and she pulled it back as far as she could each time, then letting it snap onto her skin. She hoped that maybe, after a while, the pain would eventually be just as satisfying as the blade.

Even though Kagome had only cut herself a handful of times in her life, she was practically addicted to it now. She started it when she was thirteen, but she stopped after one time because she couldn't handle the pain very well. After all, she had gotten enough beatings from her father, and didn't need to hurt more. But when she was fifteen, she picked up the blade again and she cut for a few weeks, but then realized how bad it was for her, and she forced herself to stop. But that willpower only lasted until she was seventeen, after she moved to this town. She felt terribly selfish doing it, but that didn't stop her. While she was in the hospital, she snuck a few scalpels and blunts, and cut her stomach. Luckily, and surprisingly, the nurses and doctors never noticed anything different.

Right before she left the hospital, she silently promised herself that she would follow the psychiatrist's advice and try to stop her self harm.

But thinking about Souta made her think about her mother. Thinking about her dear mother made her think about the fire. Thinking about the fire made her think about her father. It was too much to handle. She needed a release from all the guilt and pain that washed over her.

So after a few more minutes of snapping rubber bands on her skin, she had had enough of it. She couldn't take it anymore. It was almost like the rubber bands taunted her, saying that she was stuck with them and couldn't have anything better. But Kagome smirked, and silently told them they were wrong. She _did_ have something.

Kagome grabbed her bag again, and she dug to the bottom. There, she found a gray wallet with red roses and skulls all over it(A/N I actually have that wallet. Heh). She turned it over and pulled at a thread along the top until it unraveled slightly. She opened the small opening a bit wider, and she peeked in. She smiled slightly at the fact that it was still there. Pulling back a bit, she stuck two fingers in and retrieved what had been hidden there: a small razor blade.

Kagome pulled it out completely and threw the wallet to the side. She stood up off her bed and walked into the bathroom. She closed and locked the door behind her, then took a quick look at the room she had entered. It was almost perfectly white, as if nobody had ever used it before. The only color was from the dark blue border that went around the room. There was a bathtub with a built in shower on the other side of the small room, which had clear slidable doors for when you shower. A toilet was against the wall next to the tub, which had a trash can off to the side of it. Next to the trash can, was the counter that contained drawers and a sink on top. Directly above the sink, was a mirror. Kagome looked into it, but only for a moment before she turned away. She couldn't stand seeing her face. Her old mirror had a crack near the top, so she couldn't see her face unless she crouched so that she could see below the crack. But she only did that when she had a scar or cut to cover up there.

Kagome knew she was ugly, her father had told her that for years after her mom and brother's deaths. Kagome narrowed her eyes at the thought of her father coming back to haunt her. She shook her head, then remembered what she came to do.

She walked over to the bathtub, and sat in it without turning the water on. She closed the sliding doors behind her and she looked down at the blade in her hand. She slowly brought it over to her left arm, and she found a small spot that hadn't been sliced yet. Kagome gently set the razor onto her arm, and relished in the feeling of cool metal against her warm skin.

Just as she was about to push the blade deeper, making a cut, there was a knock at her bathroom door.

"Kagome?" Sango's voice reached to her. Kagome's eyes widened and she quickly pulled the razor from her arm.

"W-what?" she answered.

"Oh, um, I was just wondering if you needed any help unpacking...what are you doing in there?"

Kagome gulped quietly, then answered in her most convincing voice, "Going to the bathroom..."

"Oh...okay. Well, I'll just wait out here then.." Sango said, obviously feeling kind of awkward.

Kagome heard a few footsteps outside of the door, then the squeak of springs from someone sitting on the bed in the opposite room. Kagome smiled, then silently thanked Sango for stopping her. She realized that she had to try not to cut, for the sake of her friends. She may have just known them for a few months, but they were the bestest friends she had ever had in her life. That might sound kind of sad, but it was true.

Kagome silently opened the tub's sliding doors and stepped out. She bent down to the trash can and lifted it up, setting the blade under it so that she could hide it later. She stood back up and flushed the toilet, to make her story of going to the bathroom believable. She also turned on the sink for a few moments, then turned it off. Before she could open the door, she got a look at herself in the mirror.

Kagome hadn't even realized she had started crying so much before. She quickly ripped off a piece of toilet paper and wiped the tears away. After she was done, she threw the paper wad into the trash and looked back at the mirror. She tried smiling at herself, but failed terribly and she then instead grimaced at her reflection. After a short moment, Kagome turned towards the door and opened it. She noticed Sango sitting on her bed with her back towards her.

"Sango?" Kagome tried.

Sango turned around and asked, "What happened to your wallet?" She picked up the wallet and held it towards Kagome. Kagome tried to pretend she didn't know what she was talking about, "What do you mean?"

Sango stood up and showed Kagome the wallet more closely, "It has a hole in the back of it."

Kagome looked curiously at the object, "Huh...not sure how that happened..."

"Really?"

"Really."

Sango sighed, realizing that it probably wasn't a big deal. "Okay then. Well, let's get your stuff unpacked, shall we?"

Kagome smiled at her friend, "Sure."

They started to take stuff out of Kagome's two small bags and put them into her closet and drawers of her nightstand. Sango noticed the rubber bands, but knew that it was supposed to be Kagome's "therapy," so she just put it into the bottom drawer of the nightstand. After about half an hour, they were done. Sango left, but then came back a few minutes later with a stereo.

"I noticed that you have a bunch of CDs, so here's my old stereo, if you want it," Sango had told her. In return, Kagome hugged and thanked her. They listened to music for about an hour and talked. The two had gotten closer, and were happy that they got to live with each other. They were almost like best friends who had known each other for years, but didn't. At about eleven o'clock, Sango left to go to her room, leaving Kagome alone.

Kagome sighed and laid down on her bed. Since she didn't have anyone there to distract her from her thoughts, her mind began to wander until it came across the subject of her family. She cried herself to sleep that night.

* * *

**...**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**Was it okay? I hope so. I know it's shorter than other chapters, but I couldn't continue because I couldn't think of anything to put into this chapter that would, well, _belong_ in the chapter. You know?**

**Anyways, I'll try to make the next one longer. ^^**

**Sorry for taking so long to update. I know, I'm such a lazy ass. But, here's the chapter. At least I didn't abandon it, right?**

**And no, this story is NOT finished. Just making sure no one has to ask. And if you do ask, I will direct you to read this author's note. So, yea.**

**I hope this chapter didn't suck(though it probably did).**

**Review, please? I will try to reply to each and every review given to this story. ^^**

**Okay, I'm done. Thank you, readers! Love ya, you beautiful freaks!**


End file.
